East High Drama Club
by angellwings
Summary: He could feel the aura of body heat she was giving off, and they were both acutely aware of the other. Kelsi swallowed thickly as he looked down at her. They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity...Future Fic. Ryelsi.
1. Prologue: Just Walk Away

**East High Drama Club**

By angellwings

_

* * *

Prologue: Just Walk Away

* * *

  
_

Kelsi stared at the phone in her hand anxiously. Ryan still hadn't called. He hadn't been able to get a job as an assistant choreographer straight out of college so he had auditioned for the touring production of 'Thoroughly Modern Millie'. He was currently the ensemble's dance captain, and Kelsi couldn't be prouder of him.

But that meant he was on the road all the time, and she was stuck in New York getting coffee for one of Broadway's most brilliant (and egotistical) composers. When he had first started touring he had called her all the time, and when he couldn't call he at least sent her a text message. But more recently he had been forgetting to do that too.

Kelsi was beginning to feel more stressed about the relationship than she ever had, and more stress was the last thing she needed at the moment. She didn't think she could do this much longer. She was so worried about her relationship that she was spacing out at work (which had caused her to look like an idiot in front of her boss on more than one occasion).

She glanced at the clock and groaned. She couldn't wait for his call any longer. She needed to go to bed so she would be well rested for work in the morning. They were making a presentation to a brilliant young screenplay writer in the morning and they desperately needed to make a good impression.

"_Waited for your call as long as I could. We need to talk some time soon."_

She sighed and hit send before plugging her phone up to the charger and going to bed.

She and Ryan had been through a lot together, but tonight had been the last straw. Maybe it would be best for both of them if they just went their separate ways for a while.

Ryan was working hard on his career…it was high time she worked hard on hers too.

* * *

_First things first: DON'T FREAK OUT, lol. I know this starts out kind of sad and it might ruin the happily ever after we've all imaginged, lol, but it DOES get better! So stick with me here! And secondly, I know I told a few people that I wouldn't be posting this until the weekend, but I changed my mind.  
_

_Enjoy!_

_angellwings  
_


	2. The Start of Something

**East High Drama Club**

By angellwings

_

* * *

Chapter One: the Start of Something

* * *

  
_

**Two years later…**

After two years of developmental hell Kelsi's idea and songs were being turned into a movie. It was just a Disney Channel Original Movie, but it was better than nothing. It turned out the screenwriter she met the next morning liked _her _better than her boss, and offered to write a script for whatever concept she wanted. Kelsi wrote up a summary of her days at East High and handed it over to him, and now two years later she was going to get to watch her idea portrayed on screen.

"You guys know that this isn't an actual 'premiere' right? Not like a big Hollywood premiere," Kelsi asked her friends as the car dropped them off in front of a theater in L.A.

"What are you talking about? There's a red carpet!" Troy exclaimed with a teasing grin. "Well, I guess technically it's a blue carpet, but the same concept applies."

"What I meant was that you didn't have to come. It's not that big of a deal," Kelsi told them with a blush and a smile.

"Didn't have to come? Jason directed it, Martha choreographed, and you, Kelsi, created the concept, wrote the music, and co-produced this movie. How could we not come and see your first big project?" Gabriella asked as she squeezed her old friend's hand encouragingly. "Besides…we're kind of in it."

"You are?" Jason asked from across from them. "I don't remember casting you guys for anything…"

Martha chuckled and patted her husband's shoulder sympathetically.

"Oh, I see what you did there. You meant…symbolically," Jason said after a few seconds of thought.

"You catch on quick, bud," Troy said teasingly with a smirk before he turned toward Kelsi. "All the Wildcats are represented by characters in this movie, Kels. Hell, it's even set at East High."

"Yeah, that actually wasn't my decision. I wanted it set at a random high school in Florida, but no. Randy insisted that we shoot in Albuquerque."

"The point is, Kel, we're Wildcats and this movie is ABOUT Wildcats. We're all curious to see how this movie turned out," Martha told her. "By the way I think it's awesome that this was shot at East High, and you have to admit that the three of us had a GREAT time on set. It was like we were back in high school."

Kelsi smiled gratefully at her friends, "So, it's not going to hurt the famous Troy Bolton's reputation to be seen at the premiere of a Disney Channel Original Movie?"

During his senior year of college Troy had to choose between acting and basketball once again. Only this time he couldn't choose both. He ultimately picked acting which it turned out had been the right choice. He had landed a role on a prime time teen soap opera, and had become America's golden boy. What had touched Kelsi the most was that through it all Troy strived to stay in touch with the Wildcats. He claimed his old friends kept him modest and humble.

He shrugged and winked at her, "it's a blow I'm willing to take for the little people in my life…figuratively and literally."

She glared at him, "If THAT was a jab at my height, Mr. Bolton, then you will be in VERY big trouble."

"A jab? At your height? Now why would I do that?"

"Because you enjoy being mean to me," Kelsi told him with a playful smack to the shoulder.

He nodded his head, "That IS true."

Kelsi laughed as they approached the "blue" carpet and began to walk the length of it. Kelsi, Jason & Martha, and Troy all had to make their rounds with the press that lined the carpet. Troy made sure Gabriella stayed on his arm or at least close by for the entire length of the carpet. Kelsi thought it was very sweet, but then again when had Troy and Gabriella NOT been sweet? Kelsi, Jason, and Martha had to wait for their young cast to arrive in order to take photos while Troy and Gabriella went on inside. The movie was airing for the first time on the Disney Channel tonight and a select audience was getting to screen it in a movie theater at the same time. The ten members of the principle and supporting cast joined their director, choreographer, and composer by the entrance to take a group shot for the press. Kelsi was very impressed with their young cast. They were all very talented and ambitious kids. Once the pictures had been taken they were free to go inside and enjoy the movie.

Kelsi had no idea that her little movie would sweep the nation.

"East High Drama Club" smashed records the Disney Channel never dreamed they'd come close to. The actors became overnight sensations, and Kelsi's songs were suddenly all over the Billboard charts. She ended up writing pop songs for some of the actors to use on their solo albums while Martha ended up choreographing and staging the "East High Drama Club" concert tour. Jason directed several of the casts debut music videos and directed other hit movies for the Disney Channel.

"East High Drama Club" became an international phenomenon that no one had intended it to be.

Disney couldn't get enough of it. Almost as soon as the credits rolled on the first movie's premiere night Disney began arranging the details for the sequel. Kelsi, Jason, and Martha were on contract for the sequel by the following evening.

But the success of "East High Drama Club" was only the beginning of the story.

* * *

_Man, this chapter looks a lot shorter on than it did in Word. Hope you guys don't mind! _

_And don't expect updates this fast all the time, lol. The prologue didn't really give you guys much to go on so I thought I would go ahead and post this chapter. I'll post chapter two in about a week.  
_

_Enjoy!_

_angelliwngs  
_


	3. Work This Out

**East High Drama Club**

By angellwings

_

* * *

Chapter Two: Work This Out

* * *

  
_

Martha was pregnant.

It was a statement that left Kelsi Nielson very conflicted. She was overjoyed for her two friends. They were having a baby!

But that also meant "East High Drama Club 2" needed a new choreographer. Martha's doctor had suggested she take it easy while she was pregnant. Martha's medical history indicated that it was very possible that strenuous activity during even the early stages of her pregnancy could result in complications.

Jason and Martha had already made their suggestions for who the new choreographer should be, and professionally speaking Kelsi knew they were right. She just didn't want to have to face her past. She hadn't seen Ryan Evans in two and a half years. It was bound to be awkward. Randall, the writer and executive producer, was so excited that they could get a choreographer as well known and famous as Ryan Evans that he had already decided to hire him.

At this point she just needed to accept it and move on. Ryan Evans was going to be back in her life very soon. They hadn't parted on terrible terms, but they hadn't parted on good terms either. After a long talk they had both decided on a mutual separation. It was painful and awkward, but it had happened and Kelsi had thought she had recovered rather well. Things were only awkward with Ryan. She and Sharpay had somehow become closer _after _the break up than they had been before. Kelsi tended to think it was Zeke's fault. After the breakup he had pushed Kelsi and Sharpay together as much as possible since they were the only Wildcats in New York. Zeke was a Sui chef at a chic restaurant in the city and Sharpay was a member of the ensemble for the show "Chicago". If it hadn't been for Zeke forcing them to make nice Kelsi was certain that she and Sharpay would hate each other right now.

Sharpay had gone on to originate several roles on Broadway and Zeke was now the head chef of his own restaurant. They were still living in New York, and still an "on again off again" couple. They would break up every couple of months and then get back together. Kelsi thought that Sharpay _liked_ it that way. After all, the woman had a flair for the dramatic and all things volatile. The Wildcats had all basically ended up where they wanted to go. Gabriella was slowly edging her way to being partner in an L.A. law firm, and when they were filming in Albuquerque last year Kelsi had learned that Taylor was already involved in local politics around town as well as heading up her own small law firm. Chad hadn't gone pro like he wanted, but Kelsi knew he was happy with where he was. He had injured his knee during his senior year of college, and lost any chance of being a professional athlete. After college he had taken a job at East High as a P.E. teacher and assistant basketball coach.

When Kelsi thought about Chad and Taylor she often thought about how funny life was. Chad and Taylor had broken up a few months into their freshman years of college. The distance had not been kind to them, but after law school Taylor came back to Albuquerque and the East High area. The last thing she had expected was to run into Chad Danforth. They had ended up striking up a friendship again which had slowly evolved into a more serious relationship than they had in high school. They visited the set the day after their one year anniversary so Taylor could show off her modest yet beautiful engagement ring. Their wedding was scheduled for the week after principle photography on "East High Drama Club 2" wrapped. Kelsi found Chad and Taylor's reunion to be very romantic, and couldn't be happier for her two friends.

Deep down she had to admit that she harbored those hopes for her and Ryan, but she doubted he shared them. Besides she should feel terrible for having those hopes. She had a boyfriend…sort of. She and Randall, the screenplay writer, had been casually dating for a year and a half now. Was she allowed to have those kinds of hopes about her ex-boyfriend while kind of seeing another man?

She didn't think so, but she didn't have anything to worry about. Ryan was more than likely over her, and their relationship would be strictly professional. She was sure of it.

Too bad Ryan wasn't.

* * *

Ryan hadn't wanted to break up with Kelsi, but what could he have done? If one person wants to break up then you break up. He probably should have fought her on it a little bit more than he did, but he hadn't even realized things were that bad. He knew that was his own fault. He should have paid attention more. He just became so caught up in his job that he'd let Kelsi fall to the wayside. A dumb mistake on his part, but this break up hadn't been ENTIRELY his fault. He'd always been of the opinion that Kelsi gave up on them too easily. She should have smacked some sense into him. Made him see he was being a jerk. He supposed you could argue that she shouldn't have needed to, but up until that point he had been a relatively good boyfriend. He was allowed one mistake, right?

After things with Kelsi had gone south he had thrown himself into his work. He'd sort of become an overnight choreography sensation. After he was done with the "Thouroughly Modern Millie" tour he was offered a job as assistant choreographer for Kathleen Marshall, a tony award winning choreographer who was famous for incorporating the classic with the contemporary. He'd had a hand in several of her shows, and she helped him get his first solo job. After that first show things had exploded for him, and before he knew it he was in charge of stage direction for the Oscars. At this point in his life his career had kind of plateaued. He was still doing extremely well, but his career wasn't really moving forward it was staying stagnant.

He'd managed to keep in touch with all of the Wildcats by some miracle. He spoke to his sister and Zeke the most though, followed by Martha and then Chad. Through them he had kept up with Kelsi. He'd been one of the millions watching her movie the night it premiered, and he had thought it was brilliant. Although the actor playing him could use a little more dance training. Martha's choreography had been eye catching, and perfect for their target age group, and he had heard from his friends that Jason was amazing at working with those teenagers. Sharpay had told him that Kelsi was having the time of her life working with that cast. Ryan had no doubt that Kelsi was thriving right now. She'd always loved customizing music to fit a specific person's talents, and he knew she was the perfect person to get the highest quality performance out of those kids. Heck Kelsi got the highest quality performance out of _everybody_ she worked with.

To be honest he was jealous of Jason and Martha. He and Kelsi had always dreamed of working on projects together while they were in school. They were going to produce and create brilliant shows, but things hadn't turned out like they had wanted and now Jason and Martha got to create with Kelsi instead of himself.

And then he'd gotten Martha's voice mail.

"_Hey, Ry, Jase and I have some BIG news. Give me a call as soon as you get this."_

He had called her, and he couldn't say he was surprised by the news that she was pregnant but he was surprised with the news that came next.

"So, Ryan, I need to ask you a huge favor," Martha said hesitantly.

"What favor?"

"I need you to do my job," Martha told him.

His brow furrowed, "Do your job? You mean…choreograph "East High Drama Club 2"?"

"Well, the doctor says that I shouldn't. That it might cause complications, but I signed a contract with Disney so I have to supply a replacement. The only other person I'd trust with these kids is you. Nobody else would understand how to treat these kids except you. If it's not you then I'll have to hire somebody harsh and horrible who simplifies things way too much," Martha begged.

He sighed, "Do you really want me to do this?"

"Very much so," She told him.

"What about Kelsi?"

"She'll be fine, she's a pro," Martha answered. "Besides isn't about time the two of you buried the hatchet?"

Ryan shook his head. He had a feeling he was going to regret this, "Okay, fine, I'll do it."

"Thank you! Thank you so much! You will love working on this movie! The cast and crew are amazing! And guess what?"

"What?"

"We're filming at your parents' country club!"

"Lava Springs? Really? Dad agreed to that?"

"When he found Kelsi was the co-producer it was like he couldn't agree fast enough," Martha chuckled.

Ryan had to grin at that, "Dad always did _love_ Kelsi."

"Your mom has been down to the rehearsal studios everyday with some kind of treat from Chef Michaels, and she always _has_ to watch Kelsi rehearse the music with the band. Your parents are hilarious, by the way," Martha said with a soft laugh.

"Yeah, they're a hoot," He said sarcastically. Boy, was he in for a boatload of trouble. His parents were going to find insane ways to shove him and Kelsi together. They were dead set on Kelsi being the girl for him, and if Ryan were honest with himself he would have to admit that he was too. He hadn't been able to find anyone else who even came _close_ to Kelsi.

"Well, I've got to go gather the youngsters for some interviews, but I'll see you bright and early Monday morning!" Martha announced.

He swallowed nervously, "Yeah, Monday. I'll see you then."

Monday. He was going to see Kelsi Nielson on _Monday_. The next month and a half was going to be extremely interesting.

* * *

_Everybody hold on to something! It's gonna be a bumpy ride!_

_Enjoy!_

_angellwings  
_


	4. Looking From the Outside

**East High Drama Club**

By angellwings

_

* * *

Chapter Three: Looking From the Outside

* * *

  
_

When Ryan arrived at Lava Springs he was met at the club house by his parents. Lights, cameras, set pieces, and boom mics were being carried back and forth as the crew prepared the club to be a movie set.

"Ducky!" cried Derby Evans excitedly. Ryan smiled and hugged his mother tightly.

"Hi, Mom," He said with a smile.

"Good to have you home for a while, son," his father said as he clapped his son on the shoulder.

"Thanks, dad, but what are you doing here? You're usually only here on Thursdays and Fridays," Ryan asked.

"They're filming a movie at my club. I have to make sure nothing is broken or…'lost'," he explained.

"Why did you let them film here?" He asked. He knew what Martha had told him, but he wanted to hear it from his father.

"For Kelsi, of course," he smiled.

"You know she hasn't changed a bit," His mother gushed. "She's still the most darling girl. Why did you ever let her get away, honey?"

He chuckled awkwardly, "Mom…we've talked about this."

His dad suddenly tensed, "There's Randall."

"Emotions are communicated through the eyes, darling. Shades on," His mother said. Ryan glanced at his parents in confusion as they both quickly put on their sunglasses.

"Ryan Evans?" The tall brunette man asked.

He nodded, "That's me."

The man shook his hand vigorously, "Wonderful to me you! I'm Randall Clarke, executive producer and screenwriter."

Ryan gave his parents a side glance, "So I gathered."

"Morning, Mr. and Mrs. Evans," Randall said blankly.

"Clarke," His father greeted stiffly. Ryan's eyes widened. His father reserved that tone for people he truly loathed.

"Mrs. Evans, Kelsi told me to tell you that she's waiting for you in the rehearsal room," Randall said with a forced smile. Ryan chuckled as Derby Evans clapped excitedly and pranced off in the direction of the rehearsal room. "Mr. Evans, if you and your father, I suppose, will follow me I'll introduce you to the cast and the rest of the creative crew and give you a tour of our set."

"Oh, I won't be joining you. I'm meeting with Jason about the fountain in the pond," Vance Evans stated. He leaned toward his son and whispered, "Apparently your high school buddy has become obsessed with that fountain."

Ryan laughed, "I'm not surprised, dad. Jason always did have slight A.D.D."

Suddenly a loud squeal sounded from in front of the group, and Ryan was rushed with a hug from Martha Cox, "You're HERE! You should have called me the minute you arrived!"

Ryan smiled and hugged his old friend back, "Okay, Mar, I don't think _this_ is considered taking it easy."

She rolled her eyes, "I'm pregnant not an invalid."

"Just want you to be careful, that's all," Ryan told her with a friendly smile.

"I know, I know. Kelsi's been telling me that exact same thing," She sighed.

"So I hear Jason has fallen in love with fountain in the pond out front?" Ryan asked her with a grin.

Martha shook her head in amusement, "He likes the way it looks through the lens. He says it's 'fantastical'…whatever that means. Oh, Randall, I didn't see you standing there."

He noticed Martha's voice was a little colder when she spoke to Randall. Did anybody like this guy?

"You never do," He added bitingly. "I was just about to give Mr. Evans a tour of the set. Would you care to join us?"

"Actually, Randall, I'll do that. You get the cast and crew together and tell everyone to meet in the ballroom. And I mean ALL the cast and crew, including Ms. Composer. She's been in that make-shift studio for three days it's time she got some fresh air," Martha said as she looped her arm through Ryan's and pulled him toward a golf cart. Ryan waited until they drove off to ask Martha the question that had been bugging him.

"Okay, why does no one like Randall?" Ryan asked.

"Oh, there are people here that like him. Most of the cast loves him, and a good chunk of the crew does too," Martha said.

"Yeah, but my parents don't like him, you don't like him, and I'm positive if you don't like him then neither does Jason. Why?"

"You'll see. Believe me, you'll see," Martha told him forebodingly.

"I don't like the way that sounds," Ryan answered.

* * *

When Ryan and Martha arrived at the ballroom the only people missing were Randall and Kelsi. Martha introduced him anyway, and allowed the cast to ask him all kinds of questions. They weren't very serious questions. Just frivolous types of things that teenagers and young people like to know about authority figures. Ryan had enjoyed himself though. They had cut up and teased each other, and Ryan felt like he had already earned a little bit of their respect. Which was important if they were going to learn anything from him.

As the questions began to slow down Ryan noticed Kelsi and Randall finally slip into the room. Martha did as well, and Ryan saw her shoot Kelsi a very parental scolding glare. A lot of the questions had been about the actual events that "East High Drama Club" was based on, and what Kelsi, Martha, and Jason were like in school. As the kids began to file out for their lessons Ryan finally got a good look at Kelsi. His mother said that she hadn't changed, but Ryan disagreed.

She looked more crisp and professional than he had ever seen her. She was wearing a black pencil skirt, a white blouse with belled sleeves and a gray and lavender pin-striped vest that was unbuttoned and hung loosely on her frame. Ryan couldn't help but smile when he noticed a black knit beanie resting on top of her long wavy brown lockes. It was good to see that certain things about Kelsi Neilson would never change. Kelsi and Randall slowly approached the spot where Jason, Martha, and he stood.

"Sorry, I'm late," Kelsi apologized immediately. "I was in the middle of recording a track, and Randy had to wait for me to finish."

Ryan raised an eyebrow at that. She called him Randy? Kelsi appeared to be one of the few that didn't dislike Randall.

She looked up as she came to a stop in front of the group and smiled nervously at Ryan, "Hi, Ryan."

He nodded and smiled back, "Hi, Kelsi."

It felt like the first day of his eighth grade year all over again. They had been introduced by a member of the middle school drama club that he couldn't currently remember, and their exchange afterward had been identical to that one.

"I'm really glad that you could join us on such short notice. We appreciate it," Kelsi told him with that same nervous smile.

"I'm happy I could help," he told her with a nod.

"Oh, I've got a brilliant idea," Martha announced. "Why don't the…five…of us get together for dinner tonight at our place? Jason can use the grill he bought but never touched."

Jason glared playfully at his wife, "I touched it."

"Yeah, to take off the protective plastic cover after Home Depot delivered it," She said with a chuckle.

He crossed his arms and pouted, "I still touched it."

"We would love to," Randall said. "But we can't."

Kelsi gave him a questioning look, "We can't?"

"No, we've got the Writer's Guild fundraiser tonight, remember?"

She looked very confused, "Actually, I don't. Did you tell me about this?"

"Several weeks ago. You must have been too caught up in your compositions to hear me," He chuckled.

"If you say so," Kelsi said in an unconvinced tone.

Ryan saw why everyone else disliked him. Something about him seemed…slimy and manipulative. As a matter of fact Ryan didn't think he had told Kelsi about this supposed 'fundraiser' at all.

"Well, I'm in," Ryan said with a nod. "I'll be there at 7."

Kelsi appeared disappointed that she couldn't go. She sighed, "Maybe next time, Mar. Okay?"

Martha gave her friend a rueful smile, "There sure have been a lot of 'next time's lately, Kels."

Ryan's brow furrowed at that. So Randall had done this more than once. No wonder Martha didn't like him. He was keeping Kelsi too busy to see her friends. Kelsi bit her bottom lip and turned toward Randall.

"Randy, it won't hurt you to go to one fundraiser by yourself," Kelsi told him.

"I paid for two plates, Kels. Do you know how expensive that is?"

"Well, take your assistant or that receptionist you seem to flirt with all the time," Kelsi said blankly. Ryan inwardly winced. When Kelsi was blank it meant she was mad. He knew that from experience.

"Not the time or the place…_honey_," He said through gritted teeth. Kelsi rolled her eyes.

"I'll be at your house at 7, Martha," She said confidently. Ryan hid a grin behind his hand, but he seemed to be the only one hiding his glee. Martha and Jason were beaming.

"Kelsi!" Randall exclaimed in protest. "You can't just-"

"Not the time or the place, _honey_," She said in a mocking tone. Randall's jaw tensed and he nodded curtly.

"We'll talk about this later," He said in a surprisingly soft tone as he leaned down and kissed Kelsi's temple gently. He saw Kelsi crack and her resolve weaken slightly. Ryan knew that look too. She felt guilty.

Wow, this guy was a world class manipulator. He would give his sister a run for her money. He knew what buttons to push and exactly how to push them. Kelsi watched him walk away out of the corner of her eye, and Martha immediately spoke up.

"Kels, you're still coming right?"

"He _did_ pay for the plates…"

Jason rolled his eyes, "Kelsi Mariah Neilson if you ditch us for him again I will call Troy Bolton and let _him_ talk some sense into you."

"Hey now! There's no need to call Mr. Overprotective," She said as she glared at Jason. "I wish you guys would get over whatever this issue is you have with Randy. He's really rather sweet."

It seems Ryan's presence had been completely forgotten for the time being.

"Oh yeah, because _sweet_ guys always use guilt to talk you into things you don't want to do or make plans without telling you and then try to make _ you_ look stupid by making you think you forgot. Yeah, that just _screams_ sweet," Jason said sarcastically. Ryan was shocked at Jason's tone. Jason had always been a rather quiet guy who kept most of his opinions to himself so this was different for Jason. Or at least it was to Ryan.

Ryan cleared his throat to alert them to the fact that he was still here. Kelsi froze and her cheeks automatically turned a deep shade of crimson while Jason and Martha seemed perfectly unphased.

"Ryan will you tell her?"

"Woah," Ryan said as he held his hands up in surrender. "Do not bring me into this. I _just_ got here."

That was ex-boyfriend speak for "I'm not sure this is really any of business at the moment" or "We're still on hesitant ground let's not shake things up just yet."

Kelsi sighed and spoke up quietly, "Look if it wasn't for Randall none of this would have ever happened. I would still be working for that jerk Marchez. I would be running his errands and fetching his coffee to this day if Randall hadn't offered to help me out."

This is where Ryan couldn't resist speaking up, "So you're seeing him because you think you _owe_ him something? Pardon me if I'm overstepping, Kelsi, but that's ridiculous."

"Says the guy who couldn't make a stupid phone call once a week," Kelsi mumbled defensively.

He chuckled bitterly, "I wasn't the one who gave up when things got tough, now was I?"

"Yeah well, It's hard to have a relationship with your voice mail," Kelsi said with a glare. "What was I supposed to do?"

"I don't know, smack me? Tell me off? Anything but tell me you want to break up," Ryan said in a louder tone.

"You could have fought me on it, you know! You could have done something…anything to show me that you still even _wanted_ to be with me. But you didn't. You barely even protested when we talked about it," Kelsi yelled.

Jason and Martha stood by and watched in shock. This was not what they had expected. Both Kelsi and Ryan were usually so quiet and respectful that they assumed they would be extremely professional and passive. They hadn't counted on a belated explosion of anger.

"What was there to protest? It's hard to keep a relationship together when one HALF of it wants to end things!"

"You were so wrapped up in that damn tour!"

"Hey, you're the one that dumped _me_ for work it wasn't the other way around."

"You make it sound like you did NOTHING wrong," Kelsi exclaimed. "It wasn't ALL my fault, you know!"

"Well, it wasn't ALL my fault either!"

Ryan shook his head and backed away from Kelsi. Kelsi swallowed thickly and sat down in a nearby chair.

"Wow," Jason said finally. "That was intense."

Ryan, Kelsi, and Martha glared at him.

"Not an appropriate time for me to speak?" Jason asked knowingly before nodded to himself. "I should probably shut up now."

Martha took her husband's hand and led him away from the couple, "Let's give them a moment to work this out, honey."

Kelsi buried her face in her hands. This wasn't how she had wanted this to go. She had wanted it to be civilized. She had hoped that she would have let go of everything by now, but apparently the wound was still fresh…for both of them. Ryan closed his eyes and fisted his hands in frustration.

"Why is this so hard?" He asked.

"The past is never easy to deal with, Ryan," Kelsi said softly.

He shook his head, "Why did you do it, Kels? Why did you give up?"

"I just couldn't handle not having you around, and then you stopped calling…and it was like you were completely gone from my life. It _hurt_, Ryan. I just thought if you really were gone…then maybe it wouldn't hurt," She said honestly. "Why didn't you fight it or try to stop me?"

"I didn't realize anything was seriously wrong. From my end it was as if everything was fine and then…BAM you dropped this bombshell on me. I was too busy being depressed and discouraged to realize I was supposed to ride in on a noble steed and save the day."

Kelsi sighed hopelessly, "We really screwed up, didn't we?"

Ryan nodded, "I'd say."

They sat in silence for several moments before Ryan spoke up again.

"I gotta ask, why are you _still_ with that Randall jack ass? Even if he was a nice guy once upon a time…he's definitely not good for you now," He told her as he sat down next to her.

"He got me my first big job, Ryan-"

"No, he didn't. Did Randall come up with the plot? Write and produce the music? Hire the director and choreographer? No, you did. All he did was write the words that come out of the actors' mouths, and no offense…but even those words aren't the greatest. You got yourself this job, Kels. Disney fell in love with your story and your music. Randall had very little to do with anything. And I gotta say…the fact that he's even attempting to hold that over your head makes him a Grade A sleazeball. C'mon, you can't tell me that you honestly feel anything for that…mouse of a man?"

She sighed, "You're right. I don't."

"Then drop him…for Martha's sanity at least. She really _hates_ the guy," Ryan said as he gave her shoulder a teasing bump. Kelsi stared off into the distance and her leg began to bob up and down. Ryan glanced down at her leg and then up at Kelsi's face.

"You're afraid," Ryan realized with a clenched jaw. "I don't like that."

"I'm not afraid," She lied.

"When we graduated from Julliard you had finally reached that point where you refused to let people walk all over you. What happened to that Kelsi?"

"I'm NOT afraid, Ryan," She lied again.

"Yes, you are. I know you, Kelsi. Better than just about anyone else," He said softly. "And right now you're afraid of how Randall could react. DON'T let this guys turn you back into that frightened junior who let me and my sister ruin your music. Just DON'T."

Kelsi watched silently as Ryan stood up and walked away. He was right. He was usually right when it came to reading her. How he did that she would never know. Right now she only knew that facing her past with Ryan was the BEST thing that had happened to her in a long while. She had missed Ryan's friendship. Well, she had honestly missed a whole lot more than that, but at this particular moment she missed the friendship they had shared the most. Her cell phone rang, and Kelsi immediately answered it. She already knew who it would be.

"Kelsi Nielson speaking," She greeted.

"Are you calm enough to talk now?" Randall asked.

"Oh, I am MORE than ready to talk, Randall. Meet me at the rehearsal room. We'll talk there," She told him. She hung up before he could protest, and made her way toward the rehearsal room. She should have listened to her friends a long time ago.

* * *

_Two steps backwards followed by one giant leap forward! YAY, Ryelsi!_

_Enjoy!_

_angellwings  
_


	5. Be Who I Am

**East High Drama Club**

By angellwings

_

* * *

Chapter Four: Be Who I Am

* * *

  
_

"So, what does that mean? Are you and Kelsi cool?" Jason asked Ryan with a questioning glance.

He shrugged, "I suppose so. I mean we stopped yelling."

"More importantly is she gonna dump Randall the Reptile?" Martha asked eagerly.

"I honestly have no idea. You should ask her when she gets here," Ryan told her.

Martha scoffed, "She won't come. She'll be at his fundraiser thing tonight."

"Mar," Jason said in a light scolding tone.

"You know she will, Jase. She always lets him win," Martha told her husband as she crossed her arms over her chest.

They were all sitting in Martha and Jason's backyard. They had bought a home in Albuquerque. Neither of them had really wanted to live anywhere else, and regardless of where they lived they knew both of them would be travelling constantly for work. So it was their belief that they should travel to and from some where they loved. Jason was waiting for the burgers to finish on the grill while Ryan and Martha sat casually at the patio table.

"I just think you should try and see things the way she does. That's all," Jason told her.

"You didn't seem too keen to try that this afternoon, dear," Martha told him.

He sighed, "I know. I should have though. You and I both know that Randall used to be a pretty decent guy. He didn't start acting like this until Mike was hired."

"So, because Mike would rather work with Kelsi than him that gives him the right to be a jerk?" Martha asked sarcastically.

Jason shook his head, "Of course not. It does however give him the right to be insecure about his place in Kelsi's life which _can_ turn a guy into jerk."

"Why would he be insecure?" Martha asked.

"Wait, who's Mike? Don't tell me Kelsi is seeing _two_ guys," Ryan asked with a worried tone.

"Mike is the President of programming for the Disney Channel," Martha told him. "He hates working with Randall and avoids him at all costs, but he loves Kelsi to death. He treats her like she's his long lost beloved niece or something. It's hilarious to see. I still don't get why Randall would be insecure, though."

"Have you _seen_ Kelsi with those Disney execs? She's amazing. You'd never guess she was the same Kelsi who used to be afraid to show her _friends_ her latest composition. Kelsi has become quite the business woman. Think about this, up until Mike came along _who_ handled all the business?" Jason asked his wife knowingly.

"Randall," Martha said in realization. "He's monopolizing Kelsi's time because he's afraid she doesn't need him. I get it now."

"Well, she doesn't need him," Ryan told them both bluntly. "She seems to doing a lot of the work around here as it is."

"These movies are Kelsi's babies," Martha chuckled. "She wants to be involved in as much of the process as possible. I mean she left me and Jason alone during the filming of the first one, but that's because she trusted us completely with the cast. If you went to set and asked the Costume Designer how many times Kelsi has critiqued her designs the only thing she would know to tell you was that she had lost count."

"She does the same with the set designers and set dressers. She wants everything to be perfect or as perfect as it can be with the budget Disney Channel gave us," Jason grinned.

"Which is why you still need to figure out how to get us a pink convertible before principle photography begins," A new voice said from behind their waist high wooden gate.

Martha's eyes widened and she turned her head quickly, "Kelsi?"

"Why do you look so shocked?" Kelsi asked with a smirk. "I told you I was coming didn't I?"

Jason chuckled and rushed to the gate to let Kelsi in to the back yard.

"Hope you guys don't mind that I came around the back. I thought it was only fair due to Jason's stunt the last time you guys were at _my_ house," Kelsi said as she poked Jason teasingly.

"I swear I did not mean to break your window, but the door wouldn't open! I had to get out of there somehow!"

"You could have _unlocked_ the window instead of _breaking_ it," Kelsi scolded.

"I tried! It wouldn't budge!"

"Well, thanks to you I had to wash my hair in the kitchen sink for a week," Kelsi said as she sat down next to Martha.

"Where's Randall?" Martha asked suspiciously.

"Ah, probably packing," Kelsi said.

"Packing? Where's he going?" Jason asked.

"Back to New York, I guess. I don't really know," Kelsi shrugged.

"But we're in the middle of a movie, remember?" Jason asked in confusion.

"We are…he's not. Not anymore," Kelsi told them.

Ryan's eyes widened, "He quit?"

She nodded, "Gave Mike his resignation and everything."

"So, who's our executive producer?" Martha asked.

"Me, apparently. At least that's what Mike said," Kelsi grinned.

"What about his screenplay? Will there be any problems?" Jason asked worriedly.

"Mike says Randall's contract makes that impossible. He _sold_ the screenplay to Disney completely. Officially as the writer he had no say in the outcome of this movie or the last one, but since he was the writer AND executive producer he ended up having a LOT of say. Now that he's no longer involved in the making of the film the script is completely ours."

"So, he's just taking off?" Martha asked.

"No, he'll be on set for a little while tomorrow," Kelsi said.

"Why?" Martha pouted.

Kelsi gave her a reproachful look, "Manipulative jerk to me or not he's great with those kids. He's not just gonna leave without saying goodbye to them."

"What is he gonna tell them?" Ryan asked.

"He said something about moving on to other projects," Kelsi told them with a sigh.

"He sounds like he's taking it rather well," Jason said. "Better than I expected at least."

"I sort of went off on him. I didn't mean to, but when I saw him…I just couldn't help it. He seemed really apologetic and regretful it was like he didn't realize how much he'd changed or something. He looked like I had killed his kitten when I left," Kelsi told them with a frown.

"How did you meet this guy anyway?" Ryan asked her curiously.

Martha's eyes widened, "You know I think I hear the phone ringing. I better go answer it."

"And, uh, I should, um, go get the cheese slices out of the refrigerator. Yep, that's what I should do," Jason stammered as he and Martha rushed inside.

Ryan watched them go with a confused expression and then turned back to Kelsi, "I'm not gonna like this am I?"

Kelsi gave him a hesitant glance, and cleared her throat.

"You know the day that we broke up?"

He gave her a suspicious look, "Yes?"

"I met Randy that morning," She told him. "Marchez was presenting some compositions to him, and of course he needed his coffee slave to come with him."

"So, you met you're newest ex-boyfriend the morning before I became your previous ex-boyfriend," Ryan clarified to himself. "Of course, that makes perfect sense."

"Ryan, nothing happened with Randall until almost a year after we broke up," She told him. "He had nothing to do with the break up. I promise."

"It's still a little weird for me," Ryan told her honestly. "I mean how did he go from a screenplay writer for Marchez to a screenplay writer for _you_?"

"Marchez took a cigarette break, and well he left the baby grand vacant-"

Ryan grinned, "Ah, and you just couldn't _not_ play it."

"Exactly, so I started playing a song-"

"Which song?"

"You really don't want to know it would only make the weirdness worse," Kelsi winced.

"Let me guess…'Just Wanna Be With You'?"

She sighed and gave him a concerned glance, "Yes."

"Uh huh, and Randall heard you and decided you were infinitely more talented than that pompous maniac and wanted to write a screenplay for you instead, right?"

"Exactly," Kelsi answered.

"So…this guy found _my_ girlfriend playing _our_ song and offered her a major career boost and then coincidentally _my_ girlfriend and I break up that same night. Wow."

She sighed, "Ryan, honestly I barely knew his name when we broke up. I called him Ronny for the first _month_ we worked together. He had nothing to do with it."

"So he basically played Prince Charming to your Cinderella, huh?"

"You're not going to let this go anytime soon are you?" Kelsi asked him knowingly.

Ryan ignored her, "Does he know that I'm your ex?"

Kelsi bit her bottom lip, "No. He knows it was someone I went school with middle school through college, though. I think he thinks it's Troy. Even though he knows Troy didn't go to Julliard."

Ryan chuckled, "He thinks you dated _Troy_? That's like… someone thinking Sharpay is my-"

"Don't say it! You'll only burn terrible disgusting images into my brain if you do," Kelsi said as she interrupted him frantically. After a couple of minutes of silence Kelsi sighed worriedly, "Are we okay?"

Ryan stared straight ahead thoughtfully, and then turned to Kelsi, "We are definitely okay. We're not great, but I'd say okay is an appropriate word to describe us."

Kelsi let out a relieved breath, "Thank God. That alone will make things less stressful."

Ryan nodded, "I agree. We will definitely be able to work together and behave professionally now that we have _most_ of the anger out of our systems."

"Good," She said with a nod. "So I have a work related question for you, would you like to come by the music rehearsal tomorrow morning? You know so you can get a feel for the music."

"I have the demos, wouldn't that work?" He asked.

"Trust me. You _have_ to hear these kids singing these songs. They sound completely different than listening to my pathetic voice on the demos," Kelsi told him.

"Your voice is not pathetic," Ryan said.

"That's debatable," Kelsi said with a tiny grin.

Jason cleared his throat from the doorway, and peeked out into the yard, "Is it safe for me to come out now?"

Kelsi and Ryan took one look at Jason's worried face and burst out into a fit of loud laughter.

"I'm taking that as a yes," Jason said as he gave them a strange glance and took the pre-sliced cheese to the grill. "Martha! It's all clear! You can come out now!"

Martha walked out the back door and stopped in front of Kelsi and Ryan as they laughed uproariously.

Her brow furrowed, "What's so funny?"

* * *

"Okay, okay!" Kelsi called as she commanded the casts' attention. "Folks, let's get started!"

Kelsi nodded to the band and cued them with her hand. They started to play the introduction, and out of the corner of her eye Kelsi saw Ryan enter the room and walk toward the empty chair that was against the corner of the rehearsal room.

"Ready? And go!"

"_What time is it? Summertime!_

_It's our vacation!_

_What time is it? Party time!_

_That's right say it loud!_

_What time is it? The time of our lives!_

_Anticipation!_

_What time is it? Summertime!_

_School's out, scream and shout!"_

Kelsi kept time for the band and nodded her head to the beat. She mouthed the words with the kids, and motioned for McKenzie and Dave to step forward and start their verse. McKenzie and Dave were playing the Troy and Gabriella roles that were known as Isabella and Tyler in the movie.

"_Finally summer's here,_

_Good to be chillin' out. _

_I'm off the clock, _

_The pressures off!_

_Now my girl's what it's all about!" _Dave sang as he and McKenzie danced flirtatiously. Kelsi grinned at the exchange and shook her head as McKenzie began her verse.

"_Ready for some sunshine, _

_For my heart to take a chance!_

_I'm here to stay, _

_Not movin' away._

_Ready for a summer romance!"_

Dave and McKenzie sang the last part together, _"Everybody ready,_

_Going crazy and we're out,_

_Come on and let me hear you say it now,_

_Right now!"_

And then the entire cast joined in for the chorus again.

"_What time is it? Summertime!_

_It's our vacation!_

_What time is it? Party time!_

_That's right say it loud!_

_What time is it? The time of our lives!_

_Anticipation!_

_What time is it? Summertime!_

_School's out, scream and shout!"_

Kelsi motioned Connor and Rain forward for their verses. Rain and Connor were playing the Ryan and Sharpay roles that were known as Matt and Stella in the movies. Kelsi knew that Connor wasn't used to people as outgoing and hyper as Rain and that he was just now getting used to the blonde. They were slowly developing a friendship instead of a professional acquaintance.

"_Goodbye to rules,_

_No summer school._

_I'm free to shop till I drop," _Rain sang.

"_It's an education vacation," _Connor sang.

They sang the next line together in harmony, _"And the party never has to stop!"_

"_We've got things to do,_

_We'll see you soon," _Rain continued.

"_And we're really gonna miss you all!" _Connor sang.

"_Good bye to you and you," _Rain sang as she pointed to people around them.

"_And you and you!" _Conner as he bumped shoulders with Alicia Sterling. Alicia played the role that was based on Kelsi who was known as Josie in the movie. Kelsi watched in amusement as Connor and Alicia shared a laugh and he quickly spun her around.

"_Bye Bye until next fall!" _ Rain and Connor sang together.

As the chorus started again Ryan was smiling and bopping his head to the beat. Kelsi was right, these kids made the song sound completely different. Kelsi voice wasn't bad, but hearing the kids gave him a better feel for the vibe and energy of the movie. His eyes drifted to Kelsi and he smiled. She was beaming with pride at these teenagers. He noticed the actor who played what he knew was the equivalent to Chad had stepped forward and pulled Kelsi into the group. She was laughing and shaking her head as he showed her a step that followed the beat. After a little more prodding he was surprised to see her give it a try. She made a humorous noise as she mis-stepped and tried to keep up with the cast. He chuckled at the scene in front of him. He heard the door beside of him open and close and looked up to see Randall enter the room. Ryan gave the man a quick dirty look before turning back to Kelsi's music rehearsal. The kids continued to sing, and when the song ended Kelsi cheered loudly and clapped thunderously.

"Now, I KNOW you guys are ready to start recording today!" She yelled excitedly. "That was AWESOME!"

Ryan smirked at Kelsi's excitement. She loved hearing other people perform her songs more than she enjoyed performing them herself. Ryan risked a glance at Randall and noticed him staring wistfully at Kelsi with a small smile. Ryan's resentment faltered as he momentarily sympathized with the man. He knew exactly what he was thinking. Kelsi looked up and noticed Randall at the door.

"Oh," She said in surprise. "Okay, guys, I need you to sit down for a minute. Randall's here to talk to you guys, and then we'll take a break before we come back together to discuss the recording schedule."

She waved an arm and motioned for Randall to take over. He gave her a half hearted smile and moved to stand in front of the kids.

"Yeah, Randy!" one of them yelled excitedly. The man chuckled.

"Yes, yes, I'm awesome," he joked. The kids laughed and then waited patiently for him to speak. "Well, this is difficult for me to say, but before I do I want all of you to know how talented of a group you are. 'East High Drama Club' would not be the success it is without ALL of you guys. I'm positive that I'm looking at Hollywood's future mega stars. I've had a blast working with you guys, and I will never forget a single moment, but the time has come for me to move on to other projects."

The kids began to chatter amongst themselves, and a few of them looked very confused.

"Now, now, calm down," He said with a soft smile. "I'm sure I'll be seeing all of you sometime in the future. You all have my contact information if you feel like you ever need to talk to me, and I hope that you will all welcome Kelsi as the executive producer warmly. I know you all love her so I don't expect any problems, but if I hear about anything I will find you."

The cast chuckled at his semi-sarcastic threat.

"I also hope you'll welcome Mr. Evans with open arms."

Ryan's eyes widened.

"He's one of the best in his field, and comes highly praised by Martha as well as Jason and Kelsi," He told them. "Just because I'm not here doesn't mean I don't have ways of procuring information on how all of you are behaving."

The kids all smiled sadly and nodded. He made it clear that he was finished speaking and cast stood and then each made their way to chat with Randall. Kelsi stood off to the side and watched with a sad expression. She wasn't regretting her decision. She was just upset that she had been forced to come to the decision she did. Randall really was a nice guy. He had just gotten lost somewhere, and as a result so had she. When the kids had finished talking to him he approached Kelsi.

"I just want you to know that I wish nothing but the best for you and this movie, Kelsi," He said sincerely. She smiled softly at him.

"Thank you, I appreciate that."

"I think moving on to something else will be really good for me, actually," He told her. "I've gotten a job on a television show in New York."

She smiled at him, "That's great. Good luck."

They heard chatting behind them and turned to see Ryan chatting with the cast. Kelsi smiled wistfully as they laughed at something he said. She noticed Ryan asking Isaiah to show him the move that he had attempted to get her to do earlier. The young actor nodded eagerly and repeated the step. Ryan was going to get along really well with those kids. She could tell already. Randall watched Kelsi as she watched Ryan, and a thought suddenly struck him. Ryan and Kelsi had graduated from Julliard together, AND gone to East High together. He was willing to bet they had gone to junior high together as well. He chuckled at his own ignorance. Troy wasn't the ex-boyfriend.

Ryan Evans was.

"He's the ex you told me about, isn't he?" Randall asked softly and curiously.

Kelsi looked at him hesitantly and sighed, "Yes. He is."

He watched her and noticed a glow about her that hadn't been there before, "You're still in love with him."

She sighed again, "I will always be at least a little in love with Ryan Evans, Randall. Always."

"Well, let's hope he's as smart as he looks," Randall told her.

She arched an eyebrow at him curiously, "What do you mean?"

"He'd be a fool to let you get away _twice_, Kelsi. Trust me on that one," He told her honestly. Before she could respond Randall turned and left the room. She contemplated his words as she watched him walk away.

"_He'd be a fool to let you get away _twice, _Kelsi."_

They were only a couple of days into rehearsals and Kelsi was already feeling confused. She sighed and brought the cast back together. She and Ryan had worked out the schedule last night. They would start choreography rehearsals in a couple of days so that Kelsi could get a head start, and maybe get a rough draft of the final tracks to them for rehearsals at some point. For the next two days they would be in the recording studio constantly. The ensemble cast would be recording first, and then individual cast members would come in to record their verses. Once choreography rehearsals began they would rehearse with Ryan from 7 until 2 and then have a lunch break and start recording with Kelsi at 3:30. Different cast members would be scheduled for different time slots so after 3:30 they would have plenty of time to float between the studio and the tutor's trailer. The teenagers groaned as the grueling schedule was laid out for them.

Kelsi smiled sympathetically at them, "Once we get started it won't be so bad. Recording will be done before the end of this week hopefully so after that you'll have less on your plates. But we've got to be on the ball because we've only got three weeks to work on the recordings and the dances before we start filming. Now, I KNOW that you guys can handle this. I have complete faith in you, but as always if you ever get overwhelmed Jason, Martha, Ryan, and I will always be here to talk. Okay?"

They group nodded, and Kelsi smiled brightly at them.

"Okay, then everybody to the makeshift studio in the next room," She commanded brightly. "Let's get started on those back-up vocals!"

* * *

_I made Randall a little too horrible in the last couple of chapters. I had to justify why Kelsi would be interested in him so he couldn't be a complete jerk. I hope that came across in this chapter. _

_Enjoy!_

_angellwings  
_


	6. A Second Chance

**A/N: **Sorry this took me so long! For all of you who have PMed for more...HERE IT IS! Enjoy! It's not as long as some of the other chapters, but there is progress!

_

* * *

Chapter Five: A Second Chance

* * *

_

"I can't do it," Alicia Sterling said fearfully as she stared at the recording booth.

Kelsi gave her a kind and reassuring smile, "You can too. There's nothing to be nervous about. Your voice is great."

"Yeah as long as I'm singing in a group of people, but solo? Does Josie really _need_ a solo?"

Kelsi chuckled, "I think you're the only person in this cast who is TRYING to give her solo to someone else. Yes, Josie needs the solo, and _you_ deserve a little of the spotlight, don't you think?"

"Can I sip on some tea for a few more minutes and think about this?"

Kelsi laughed softly and nodded. She motioned to the pot of Chamomile tea. Alicia poured herself a cup and Kelsi went back to working on the mixes. Alicia was the last person who needed to record. She was recording the first half of the first verse of "The Music in Me". She was terrified. Alicia had never really done any singing before landing her role in the "East High Drama Club" movies, and was very nervous about recording her first solo. The door behind them opened and in walked Ryan and Connor. Kelsi arched an eyebrow at Connor. Connor shrugged, blushed slightly and sat down beside Alicia. She watched as the two began talking, but they were speaking in hushed tones so Kelsi couldn't really hear what was being said. Ryan made his way over to her.

"He wanted to see how she was doing," He told her. "How are those mixes coming?"

Kelsi handed him a CD, "That's a rough cut of every song but two."

He raised his eyebrows and looked impressed, "Which two aren't on here?"

"The two slow songs 'Everyday' and 'The Music in Me'. I'll have those to you in a couple of days," She told him with a smile. Kelsi cast another look at Connor and Alicia, "You know I think they've got crushes on each other."

Ryan grinned, "Oh I'd say they definitely do."

"So, how were your rehearsals today?" She asked him as she kept an eye on Connor and Alicia.

"Pretty good. I'm trying to ease them into things so I've started with the easier numbers. I used your demos to choreograph 'Everyday' and 'Music in Me' first. Today we started on 'All For One' and got a good bit of it done. I think tomorrow I might go ahead and work on 'Humuhumu' and 'Music in Me (Stella's Version)' just to go ahead and get those out of the way," He told her. "Would you like to come by rehearsal in the morning? I'd like to know what you think of what I've done for 'All For One' so far."

She nodded, "Sure I can come by. What time?"

"Around nine should be good. I can go over the stuff we did today with them for a bit before they show it to you that way," He told her.

"Okay, I'll be there," She smiled.

"Um, Kelsi?" Alicia asked as she walked over to her.

Kelsi looked up from the sound board, "Yes?"

"I think I'm ready now," Alicia said as Connor gave her an encouraging look.

"Alright! Well then get in there, girl!" Kelsi said brightly. Alicia made her way into the booth, and Kelsi turned to Connor, "I don't know what you said to her, but thank you."

"I didn't do anything except tell her the truth," Connor said as he watched Alicia with a fond smile. Ryan and Kelsi exchanged knowing glances.

* * *

The next day Kelsi arrived at the rehearsal room where the kids had gone over "What Time is It?" and smiled at the site that greeted her. She'd forgotten how amazing it was to watch Ryan when he was truly in his element. He was incredibly patient, and knew exactly how to clearly explain what he wanted. She nibbled on her bottom lip and grinned slightly as she observed. She had also forgotten how adorable he was when he was working. His expressions alternated between focused and excited. When he was focused his lips formed a tight, straight line and his eyebrows furrowed slightly and when he was excited he seemed to overflow with joy. His smile was bright and took up the majority of his face, his eyebrows lifted, and he tended to clap once and rub his hands together at the end of every sentence.

She could tell he was very pleased with the kids because his expression screamed excitement at the moment. She bit back a chuckle as he clapped his hands and then rubbed them together before he began to make an announcement. It was scary how well she still knew him.

"Looking great, guys! For such a varied group of actors and dancers everyone seems to be on the same page which is very rare. Okay, let's take five and then we'll come back and run it again. Stay hydrated!"

Ryan stepped off to the side and picked up his towel and water bottle. Kelsi thought this was as good a moment as any to give him the last two rough mixes.

"Ryan?" She called as she approached.

He turned and smiled, "Hey, how long have you been here?"

"Not very long," She told him as she began digging through her bag.

"When did you start carrying such large purses?" Ryan asked curiously.

"When we started production of the first movie," She told him as she continued to search.

"It looks like your carrying a very large piece of leather luggage," He stated with a smirk.

"That's what happens when you try to shove your entire universe into a handbag," She said as she frustatedly shoved her hand deeper into the bag. She winced and cried out in pain as a pencil suddenly stabbed underneath her nail. "Ow! Damn it."

She swiftly recoiled her hand from the bag, and attempted to shake out the pain.

"No matter how many times you shake that hand it's probably still going to hurt," Ryan teased her lightly before he reached out a hand toward hers, "Here, let me see."

Before she could stop herself her hand was in his. She could feel the blush rising to her cheeks as Ryan intently studied her long lean fingers for damages. Ryan didn't know what he had been thinking when he had reached for her hand. It was some sort of ex-boyfriend instinct that he had no control over. The thing about inspecting her hands was that it meant they HAD to stand closer to each other. He could feel the aura of body heat she was giving off, and they were both acutely aware of the other. Kelsi swallowed thickly as he looked down at her. They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, but they both knew couldn't have been any longer than a few seconds. Ryan cleared his throat and dropped her hand which left Kelsi feeling strangely empty.

"No damage done. I think you'll live to compose another day, Playmaker," Ryan said with a wink.

"Thanks," She said quickly as she returned to her bag. She finally found the CD and pulled it victoriously from her purse and presented it to him.

"What's this?" He asked.

"The other two rough cuts," She said as if it were obvious.

"You finished them already? What did you do? Did you work on them all night?" He asked in a tone that showed both worry and amusement.

"I wanted to go ahead and have the basic recordings finished. Now I just have to go back in and add all of the sound effects," She said with a nod.

"Do you ever sleep?" He asked half seriously. "I think you need a couple days off. You finished those cuts in record time."

"It's not a big deal. My brain wouldn't let me rest until I had finished then anyway," She told him.

"Uh huh," He said in an unconvinced tone. "And I'm sure Jason and Martha have no idea you were up all night."

Her eyes widened in fear, "You're not going to tell them are you? They'll call Troy and he'll get all big brothery and send Chad to check on me."

"They just don't want you burning out," Ryan told her with concern of his own.

"Oh please, I'm a natural born work-a-holic. It's all I know. The only constant I've ever had," She said seriously. For some strange reason Ryan hurt for her and for himself when she said that. He used to be a constant, and he _used_ to keep her from working herself into exhaustion but that wasn't the case anymore. It sounded like she felt Music was all she really had, and he knew that wasn't true. He didn't like that she felt that way. Once again she was reminding him too much of the pre-Troyella Kelsi.

* * *

"Are you seeing this?" Alicia asked as she elbowed Connor slightly and pointed to the composer and the choreographer.

"You mean the undeniable attraction floating between the two of them? Nope, not at all," Connor responded sarcastically. Alicia rolled her eyes and poked his side.

"Very funny. I'm serious," She said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I see it. What about it?"

"There's totally a history there. I mean look at them, it's obvious they had a thing at some point isn't it?" Alicia asked him as her eyes stayed focused on the couple in front of her.

"So?" He asked in a leading tone.

"So…we should help them…resolve their remaining issues," She suggested.

"Play Cupid, you mean," He said with an amused smirk.

"You make it sound like we're meddling or something."

"Um, Al, that's exactly what we would be doing," he told her with a shake of his head.

"No, all we'd be doing is helping them clear the air and set things straight," She said in her own defense.

"Yeah, still meddling," He responded.

She huffed, "Okay, so it's meddling. Will you help me or not?"

"Oh, well yeah, of course."

"Of course? Does that mean I just went though that whole meddling conversation for nothing?" She asked in shock.

"Not for nothing. I was entertained," He told her with a teasing chuckle.

"You're evil," Alicia said with a mock glare.

"Very true."


	7. Anything It Takes

**East High Drama Club**

by angellwings

_

* * *

Chapter Six: Anything it Takes

* * *

_

Mike pulled up to the set in his truck with a large trailer being pulled behind him. This was his first visit to the 'East High Drama Club 2' set and he was very impressed. Things were coming along nicely. The set was almost completed and from what he had heard Kelsi was almost done with the final mixes and Ryan Evans was one number away from finishing the choreography. Jason was ready to start shooting in a couple of days. Mike stepped out of his truck and scratched his balding head as he looked around for a production assistant or possibly even Martha who had been on the set more than she probably should have been. He finally spotted Martha and made his way over to her. She was chatting pleasantly with two people close to his age. Martha heard him approach and turned to face the jolly middle aged man.

"Mike!" She said happily as she gave him a hug.

"Martha, I thought I told you to go home?" He asked in a fatherly tone.

"You did," She sighed.

"Then why aren't you there?"

"Because someone has to drag Kelsi's butt out of the studio every now and then," Martha said seriously.

"Speaking of your fearless leader, do you happen to know where she is?" He asked.

"She's sitting in on our son's dance rehearsal," The blonde woman spoke up excitedly.

"Your son?" Mike asked. "Wait a minute; are you Mr. and Mrs. Evans? The owners?"

"I didn't realize Martha's replacement was your son," Mike said in a curious tone.

"Don't worry, Mike, Ryan is totally amazing," Martha said as if she could read his mind.

"He and Kelsi graduated from Julliard together," Mr. Evans said proudly.

Martha nodded, "We all went to high school together too."

"Hold the phone," Mike said as he once again scratched his head. He turned to Martha questioningly, "Is this the guy that got away?"

Martha nodded wordlessly.

"Well why didn't you tell me he was working on this movie? I would have stopped by sooner!" Mike exclaimed.

"Hey! Why didn't you stop by sooner?" Martha asked.

"I was waiting on the surprise," He grinned.

"Surprise?" Martha asked eagerly.

"Yes, surprise, and the sooner you get everyone together then the sooner you'll get it," He told her with a smirk.

"Oh man, give me a walkie," Martha said as she stopped a PA that was passing by. "Jason?"

"Mar? I thought we sent you home?"

"You did, but that's not important right now. Mike's here and he wants everyone to gather."

"We are going to talk about you NOT going home later. Right now, you go find Kelsi and Ryan and the kids, and I'll track down all the crew," Jason said sternly.

Martha winced and then smiled softly, "Yes, dear."

"No, no, Martha," Mrs. Evans said. "You stay. I'll go find them."

"I'll come with you!" Mike volunteered. "I've got a while. It will take Jason at least half an hour to track down the crew."

"I'll stay here with Martha. Maybe I can protect her from too much of a tongue lashing from her husband," Mr. Evans smirked as he watched them walk away.

"So, Kelsi is your son's ex-girlfriend then?" Mike asked awkwardly as they walked.

"I'm hoping she won't be his ex for long…if you know what I mean," Derby said excitedly.

"So you want them back together?" He asked in amusement.

"As far as I'm concerned Kelsi is already my daughter-in-law," Derby said confidently.

"You might want to tell your son that," Mike chuckled.

"Oh, I have…every day."

Derby pushed open the double doors to the rehearsal room and Mike followed her. The cast was working on their last big number while Kelsi watched. Kelsi's head turned when the doors opened and she jumped up at the site of Mike and Derby. She hugged Derby first and then practically tackled Mike.

"What took you so long to come visit us?" She asked.

"I've been waiting for your surprise to come in," He told her honestly.

"You have a surprise for me?" She asked.

"Well, more like a surprise for everyone," He smirked. "What are they working on?"

"I Don't Dance," Kelsi answered. "It's our most difficult number. There's a lot to it."

"Wonderful! Any chance they're reaching a good stopping point?" He asked her. Ryan spotted the group chatting and motioned to one of his assistants to take over while he found out what was going on.

Ryan nodded at the group, and then turned to the newcomer, "You must be Mike?"

Mike nodded and shook his hand, "It's nice to finally meet you Mr. Evans."

"Please, call me Ryan," He said as he gave his mother a peck on the cheek.

"They look like they're doing very well!" Mike said happily as he motioned to the kids.

"They're a very talented group," Ryan said brightly.

"I hear they have a very talented choreographer as well," Mike with a warm smile. "Welcome to the team, son. Can I borrow you two and the kids for a surprise?"

Ryan's eyebrows shot up curiously, "Sure, care to tell us what it is?"

"Oh definitely not," Mike smirked as his southern drawl peeked through. "You'll just have to meet us back at the parking lot. Kelsi why don't you walk over there with me, and we'll let Ryan gather up the younguns."

She nodded and smiled, "Sure."

Kelsi gave Ryan a small wave as she left with Mike. Mrs. Evans stayed behind with her son.

"What's up, Mike?" Kelsi asked curiously.

"Why didn't you tell me the new choreographer was the ex that slipped through those talented hands of yours?" He asked in a hushed tone.

Kelsi rolled her eyes, "Have you been talking to Martha?"

"Answer the question," He said sternly.

"Because it didn't seem important. We're both professionals and have found a way to work together successfully," She told him with a sigh.

"Important? Kid, it's very important. Do you know how many exes actually manage to have a working relationship after a break up like the one the two of you had?" He asked her.

"I'm sure lots of people manage to-"

"No, hardly anyone can do that," he told her as they walked. "It says a lot about the kind of people you and him are."

"Ryan and I have known each other for a long time. We were friends long before we were anything else," She explained.

"So were you and Randy, but we both know how strained that goodbye was," He said with a knowing look.

She glared at him suspiciously, "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm just saying that if it's that easy to work with him again there might still be something there," Mike told her with a wink. "Think about it."

"Mike…" Kelsi whined. "That ship has sailed okay? Can you just leave it alone?"

"I'll try, but I can't make any promises."

Mike and Kelsi approached Martha and Mr. Evans as they stood and waited for them.

"Kelsi," Vance Evans said brightly as he gave the girl a hug. "I haven't seen you all day."

She smiled at him, "Well, you should have come down to the rehearsal room with Derby this morning."

"I had to tell your director what he could and couldn't do to my nice green landscaping for this film of yours," Vance said playfully as his arm went around Kelsi's shoulders in a fatherly fashion.

"Yeah, well you try navigating a camera crane without touching the grass," Jason said good naturedly as he approached with the rest of the crew.

"Ah, you see I can't, that's why it's your job, son," Vance laughed teasingly.

"Mrs. Evans and Ryan should be on their way with the kids," Kelsi told the group before they could ask.

Mike observed the circle of people and smiled. Derby wasn't lying. She and Vance had already gladly accepted Kelsi into their family, and they weren't letting her go anytime soon. He wondered if they had any plans to reunite their son with Kelsi. They seemed like the type of people who enjoyed meddling. He had to admit even he enjoyed his fair share of meddling. At that moment he spotted Ryan and Derby Evans walking with the kids, and decided that the best way to help Kelsi WAS to meddle. Maybe he would team up with Mr. and Mrs. Evans. His eyebrows shot up at that thought. It wasn't such a bad idea. He made a mental note to speak to Derby and Vance later as the kids and the crew settled in around him.

"Alright everyone, Mike came all the way out here from the main office in L.A. and he's got some sort of surprise for us all," Jason announced as he motioned for Mike to take over.

"Kelsi, here, has been begging for something for this movie for a month and a half now. She doesn't know that I've been slowly trying to get that for her. She may not even remember what I'm talking about, but none the less I've got it here in this trailer. You guys want to see it?"

The kids cheered, and Kelsi glanced eagerly at the trailer. Mike turned to a couple of the crew and asked them to follow him. Everyone else watched as they extended the ramp from the back of the trailer. It had two tracks that were a tires length apart. Mike and the two crew members hopped into the back, and a few minutes later Kelsi could make out the edge of a car as it slid down the ramp. Kelsi gasped and hopped forward a small distance excitedly. The cast laughed and cheered as the pink convertible came into view with the initials S.J. on the hood in white cursive letters. Rain squealed and clapped from the crowd.

"Oh I so cannot wait to get in that thing!" the young actress yelled happily.

Kelsi rushed Mike with a hug, "You are AWESOME! This is perfect!"

"I thought you'd like it," he chuckled as he watched everyone surround the car.

Mike watched as the kids, Kelsi, Ryan, Jason, and Martha examined the car. He quietly made his way towards Mr. and Mrs. Evans.

"So, they're going to start filming soon," he said casually.

Vance nodded, "Yes I guess they are."

"And once they do Ryan and Kelsi will only be stuck here together for one and a half more months. If someone were, say, trying to get them back together they would need to act fast," Mike said as he gave them a pointed look.

Derby brightened, "Yes I suppose they would."

The three of them stood thoughtfully for a few minutes before Derby spoke up again.

"You know we could throw a dinner party to celebrate the end of rehearsals and the beginning of filming," Derby smirked. "And we could have it this Friday night."

"And maybe Ryan and Kelsi could be seated next to each other…maybe," Vance added.

"I knew you two were meddlers," Mike chuckled.

* * *

After spending a few hours being mesmerized by their massive new prop they returned to rehearsals. Once the day was over Alicia and Connor approached Ryan and Kelsi. Ryan looked up from his duffel bag expectantly.

"What do you need, guys?"

"Well, a bunch of us are going out for burgers and stuff right now, and we were wondering if you guys wanted to come with us. It might be cool to hang out outside of work," Alicia asked with a small smile.

"Yeah, and besides some of the gang can't go if we don't have adult supervision," Connor told them rationally.

Kelsi and Ryan exchanged questioning glances.

"I don't know…" Kelsi said hesitantly. "I need to make sure everything is ready for filming next week."

Ryan quirked an eyebrow at her, "Kelsi you have plenty of time to do that."

"Not really, Ryan, I mean it's already Tuesday."

"Seriously? Kelsi, you can take one night off," He told her with a shake of his head.

"I don't-"

Ryan interrupted her and turned back to Alicia and Connor, "We're going. We'll meet all of you in a few minutes."

Kelsi stared after them and turned back to Ryan in shock, "What was that?"

"You're taking a night off," He told her.

"I'm sorry, I don't think you have the right to decide that for me," She snapped.

He rolled his eyes at her, "You are the only person I know who PROTESTS when someone asks her to RELAX."

"You didn't ask! You commanded!"

"Yeah, because you'll never take time off unless someone forces you to. You've always been like that, Kels, and you know it," Ryan said with a smug grin.

"Yeah, well you haven't been the one forcing me to take a break for some time now," She muttered flippantly.

"Okay, I'm going to ignore that statement because I know how grumpy you get when you're stressed," Ryan said as he grabbed his bag and led Kelsi out the door by motioning with his hand. "Ladies first."

She pouted and muttered grumpily all the way out the door. Ryan smirked and watched her go. It almost felt like old times. His smirk faltered. Almost.

* * *

_Sorry this took so long! I hope it was worth it for you guys! I've had a lot going on what with my job at camp, but I finally got around to getting this to you guys! YAY!_

_Enjoy!_

_angellwings  
_


	8. Hit the Right Note

**East High Drama Club**

By angellwings

_

* * *

_

Chapter Seven: Hit the Right Note

* * *

"See you tomorrow!" Connor called to Ryan and Kelsi as he, Alicia, and the others left the burger joint.

"Did they just leave us here?" Kelsi asked suspiciously.

"It looks like it," Ryan smirked.

"Did they even ACT like they wanted to order something?"

"Nope," Ryan said as he shook his head.

"So they were being as obvious as I thought they were then?" Kelsi asked as she put down her menu.

"Yep," Ryan chuckled.

"I swear if they weren't such awesome kids-"

"Just sit back and relax, Kels," He grinned. "At least you get a free burger out of it."

"I do?" She asked in confusion.

He nodded, "My treat."

"Ryan, you really don't have to-"

"Look, the kids wanted to set us up on a date and this way when they ask us about it tomorrow they'll walk away with a little bit of a thrill," Ryan said with a charming smile.

She glanced at him suspiciously, "That's all this is about? This isn't a _real_ date, right?"

Ryan sighed heavily, "Don't worry about it, Kelsi."

Kelsi fiddled with her silverware and fought back the guilt she felt at Ryan's hurt expression, "Not that that would be terrible…I just think that it might not be very good for our professional relationship that's all."

He nodded with a blank expression, "It's fine."

Kelsi sighed and began to stand up, "Okay, you know what? Maybe I should just go."

"Wait," Ryan said as he grabbed a hold of her wrist. "Don't go, okay? There's no reason two friends can't sit and talk over a burger. Stay, please?"

Kelsi gave him a small smile and sat back down, "Okay, I'll stay."

They shared a lingering smile before Ryan realized he was still holding Kelsi's wrist. He cleared his throat and gently released her wrist, "So, I think I'm going to get the bacon cheeseburger. What about you?"

Before Kelsi could answer Ryan's cell phone rang. He glanced at the screen and then hesitantly decided to answer.

"Hey, mom, what do you need? A dinner party? For the cast and crew? I, um, think they would love that. When? This Friday? Sure, I can spread the word if you need me to," Ryan said with a grin. "Mike's helping you with it? Wow, you just met him today…that was fast."

Kelsi quirked an eyebrow, "I don't like the sound of that."

Ryan nodded in agreement as he listened to his mother, "Not to worry, mom. I'll be there. Promise. I've got to go though. I'll see you tomorrow. Yeah, love you too."

Ryan hung up and then turned to Kelsi, "They're up to something."

"Probably trying to set us up too," Kelsi said with an amused grin.

"Of course, they are," Ryan chuckled. "I think my parents love you more than me."

"We're going to be thrown together constantly until this picture wraps, aren't we?" Kelsi asked.

"Did you expect any less?" Ryan said with an amused smile.

Kelsi sighed in defeat, "No."

* * *

The next morning on set Martha came across Alicia and Conner whispering. She paused in front of them and raised an eyebrow at them. She knew what plotting looked like.

"What are you two up to?"

The two teens exchanged looks, "Nothing."

"Yeah, I'm not buying that. What's going on?"

Alicia bit her lip before speaking up, "We, um, might have set up Ryan and Kelsi on a date last night."

Martha chuckled, "YOU'RE the cast members who left them at that restaurant last night?"

"You heard?" Conner asked worriedly.

"Kelsi called me when she got home," Martha said with a grin. "It was a nice try guys, but I'm afraid it didn't exactly work."

"Really?" Alicia asked in disappointment.

"You went about it the wrong way," Martha told them honestly.

"What should we have done?" Conner asked curiously.

"What you need to do is remind them of how well they work and perform together," Martha said with a grin. "For instance, our last summer working at this club Ryan and Kelsi performed for the staff in our own private talent show. It was really adorable. You should ask them about it. Maybe get them to show you."

"You think that will work?" Alicia asked.

"It certainly won't hurt," Martha said as she winked at them and walked away.

* * *

That morning Ryan caught up with Jason and asked if he could make an announcement on set about the dinner party. Jason agreed and gathered everyone together. This was their last day of choreography rehearsals. Starting tomorrow the kids would be rehearsing scenes and blocking with Jason while Ryan stood by in case Jason wanted them to space out one of the numbers. Ryan already knew in advance that "Work This Out" would have to be reblocked for a smaller space.

"Alright, everyone," Jason announced. "This Friday our gracious hosts, Mr. and Mrs. Evans, have teamed up with our friend Mike to throw all of us a dinner party. They thought it would be nice to celebrate the transition from rehearsals to filming by feeding and entertaining us. The party starts at seven, and is semi-formal. Can't wait to see what all of you look like when you clean up a bit."

The group laughed lightly and chatted excitedly as they all dispersed and returned to what they had been doing previously.

Conner grinned widely at Alicia, "I just had a brilliant idea."

"What?" Alicia asked eagerly.

"We should ask them to show us that performance at the dinner party! They wouldn't be able to refuse if we brought it up in a public place," Conner smirked excitedly.

"That's perfect!" Alicia smiled. "This dinner party is going to rock!"**

* * *

**

_Hi guys! Sorry that this chapter is short, but I wanted the dinner party to be a seperate chapter! That's coming next! I hope you guys still enjoyed this one though! _

_angellwings_


	9. Better By Far

**East High Drama Club**

By angellwings

_

* * *

_

Chapter Eight: Better By Far

* * *

Kelsi arrived at the dinner party a few minutes late. She hadn't been able to find a pair of shoes to match her dress. She'd had to call up Taylor. Taylor was the closest person that had the same size foot as she did. Kelsi smoothed out the wrinkles in her light blue sequined dress before looking for her place setting. Ryan smiled softly as he spotted Kelsi from his table. She was wearing a sleeveless, tea length, light blue sparkly dress with matching pumps and she had decided to let her long hair cascade down her shoulders. She looked stunning. She approached his table and Ryan smiled warmly at her.

"Let me guess," She said. "My nameplate is beside yours."

He chuckled and glanced at the place card beside his. Sure enough it said "Kelsi Nielson".

"We've been set up."

"Shocker," Kelsi giggled.

At this moment Ryan couldn't believe he had ever let Kelsi Nielson slip through his fingers, "Have a seat."

"Don't mind if I do," She said with a smile as she sat.

"Ms. Nielson."

Kelsi turned to find one of Jason's Assistant Directors smiling down at her, "Yes?"

"I was just going to say that you look lovely tonight," He told her with a charming smile.

"Oh," She said in surprise. "Well, thank you."

Kelsi remembered this guy. He was constantly trying to flirt with her, and she was sure he was a perfectly nice guy but she just wasn't into him at all. She sent up a silent prayer that he wasn't about to ask her to dance.

"I was wondering if you would like to dance…"

"Oh, wow, sorry man, you just missed your chance," Ryan said with a shake of his head. "Ms. Nielson just promised all of her dances to me. Didn't you, Kels?"

She gave Ryan a grateful smile, "Why yes I did. I'm so sorry."

"Oh, well that's alright," The man said. "Maybe next party."

"Yes, maybe," Kelsi said with a polite smile before the man walked away. Once he was gone she turned to Ryan. "Thank you so much. I don't know what I would have done."

He chuckled, "Not a problem. I could tell you weren't exactly comfortable with him."

Ryan stood as the small orchestra began to play Irving Berlin's "Cheek to Cheek". He extended his right hand out to Kelsi, "Shall we?"

"Oh, well, I don't know…I haven't really danced in a long while, Ry."

"I'm sure you're great," Ryan said with a smile. "Besides have I ever let you embarrass yourself before?"

Kelsi blushed and smiled softly at him, "No, I suppose not."

She slipped her hand in his and followed Ryan to the dance floor. They stayed out on the floor for most of the night to discourage any further advances from the assistant director from earlier. Kelsi had never been able to figure out why she felt so safe while dancing in Ryan's arms, but she was glad to find out that it hadn't changed. When dancing with Ryan she never felt exposed or vulnerable in anyway. It was remarkable. She found herself extremely disappointed when they returned to their table. She wasn't the only one disappointed. It seemed the whole room was watching them in anticipation.

"I told you that you would do fine. You're my favorite dance partner after all," He grinned.

"I am?" She asked curiously.

"I have never enjoyed dancing more than when I'm dancing with you," He told her honestly.

Kelsi blushed and was about to respond when Conner and Alicia suddenly took the stage.

"Now what are THEY up to?" Kelsi asked Ryan in a whisper.

"We're about to find out," Ryan whispered in response.

"Earlier in the week Alicia and I were informed of a number our composer and choreographer performed together during their last summer here at Lava Springs, and if they don't mind we'd like to ask them to perform it now," Conner announced with a grin.

"What do you say?" Alicia asked hopefully. Cheers and Applause sounded throughout the room, and Ryan and Kelsi knew they had been beat.

"You mean our Rooney & Garland number, right?" Ryan asked as he glanced between the cast members and Kelsi.

"If that's the one you performed for the staff talent show," Alicia nodded.

"That's the one," Kelsi sighed. "Let's go, Mr. Choreographer."

Kelsi got to the stage first and took the microphone back from Conner and Alicia, "Go sit down and enjoy this."

Conner and Alicia smiled brightly as they sat down at the table with other cast members. Kelsi rearranged the microphone stands. She placed one up at the front of the stage and then sat down at the piano and arranged a stand in front of the piano for herself. Ryan sent her a questioning glance to ask if she was ready, and she nodded in response.

"Alright, everyone, here's a little number Kelsi and I did together back before college called 'How About You?'," Ryan told the crowd as Kelsi began to play. Ryan removed the microphone from the stand and made his way to stand beside Kelsi and the piano as she began to sing the introduction.

"_When a girl meets boy,_

_Life can be a joy,_

_But the note they end on,_

_Will depend on little pleasures they will share;_

_So, let us compare._

_I like New York in June, _

_how about you? _

_I like a Gershwin tune, _

_how about you? _

_I love a fireside _

_when a storm is due. _

_I like potato chips, _

_moonlight and motor trips, _

_how about you?_

I'm mad about good books,

_can't get my fill, _

_and Franklin Roos'velt's looks _

_give me a thrill._

Holding hands at the movie show,

_when all the lights are low _

_may not be new, _

_but I like it,_

_how about you?_

_I like Jack Benny's jokes," _Kelsi finished the introduction and first verse and it was now to the part where Ryan came in.

"_To a degree," _He sang in response with a grin.

"_I love the common folks,"_ Kelsi sang to Ryan with a smirk.

"_That includes me," _Ryan said as he slid in next to Kelsi on the piano bench. He took over playing for her and she stood from the bench and walked slowly behind him.

"_I like to window shop on 5__th__ Avenue," _Kelsi said as she twirled around in her dress and pointed out her shoes to Ryan. He laughed and nodded before singing again.

"_I like banana splits, late supper at the Ritz, how about you?"_

Kelsi hopped up on top of the grand piano and sat with her legs crossed in a lady like fashion, _"I love to dream of fame, maybe I'll shine."_

Ryan tapped her on the shoulder and Kelsi turned to face him with an interested expression, "_I'd love to see your name right beside mine."_

"_I can see we're in harmony_," Kelsi sang as Ryan reached out a hand to help her off of the piano.

"_Looks like we both agree on what to do,_" Ryan sang as he stood from the piano to join her.

Ryan spun Kelsi out and then pulled her back toward him as they both sang, "_And I like it, how about you?"_

A member of the orchestra who knew the song took over the piano. Ryan and Kelsi turned to the piano in surprised and then smiled gratefully at the man. Ryan grabbed Kelsi's hand melodramatically.

"_I'm so delighted I've ignited the spark within you let me continue to make it burn."_

Kelsi's eyes widened and she backed away slightly before she laughed and ruffled his hair, "_With you I will be like a Trilby, so let's not dally. Come on Svengali, I've got lots to learn."_

Ryan stood up straight and put his hands on his hips, "_When you're arisin', start exercisin' daily."_

"_For example, just a sample?" _Kelsi sang with a smirk as she crossed her arms over her chest and propped her chin on her hand.

"_Bend and touch the floor, fifty times or more,"_ Ryan said as he bent at his waist and stood back up. He winced and stretched his arms behind him as if he had a crick in his back.

Kelsi followed his lead and did the same. She stood back up stiffly, "_A fine start to be a Bernhardt!"_

Ryan did a few tap steps and then held his hand out and swept it across the floor challengingly. Kelsi smirked and copied his steps easily. They were the same steps they had rehearsed when they performed this the very first time. He offered his hand and she took it. They went into a series of simplified ballroom steps, and Ryan spun Kelsi all around the floor. Before they struck final poses. Kelsi turned to him and smiled as she sang.

"_Should I take a bow?" _Kelsi said as she gave an exaggerated curtsy.

Ryan puffed up his chest, "_Let me show you how!"_

He bowed low to the ground and stood back up straight with a flourish.

Kelsi laughed brightly, _"Just like partners on the stage."_

Ryan surprised her by reaching for her and pulling her flush against him. He maintained eye contact, "_If you can use a partner, I'm the right age."_

Kelsi swallowed thickly and couldn't bring herself to look away from Ryan. Performing with him reminded her of all the reasons their relationship had worked so well for so long, and at the moment she couldn't quite remember why they broke up. The crowd began to cheer and Kelsi could have sworn she heard Mr. and Mrs. Evans whistle. The sound of the cheers brought her back to the present. The present where Ryan had gotten wrapped up in his work and she had given up. The present where she and Ryan were merely coworkers and collaborators. Suddenly that thought seemed very depressing.

Kelsi cleared her throat and broke away from Ryan. She reached the table first and sat down quickly. Ryan followed after her with a confused expression on his face. Once he sat down he leaned toward her.

"Are you okay?" He asked in concern.

"Fine," She said in a distracted tone.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine," She snapped.

He sighed, "Whatever you say."

Kelsi stayed for another half hour and then stood up to leave. Ryan grabbed her wrist to keep her from leaving.

"Kelsi, what's going on?"

"Nothing, Ryan, I'm just tired," Kelsi lied. "I'll see you on Monday."

Ryan's brow furrowed as he watched her go. Things were going so well, and Ryan for the life of him couldn't figure out what went wrong. Something had bothered Kelsi, and he planned on finding out what. But not tonight. She obviously needed space tonight, and he would give her that.

He knew one thing for sure…Kelsi would see him long before Monday.

* * *

_The number Kelsi and Ryan performed is from the movie "Babes on Broadway" starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. The song is called "How About You?". I saw it and KNEW it was perfect for this. I hope you guys enjoy this...just think of this as the continuation of the last chapter. That's why it's posted so fast._

_Enjoy!_

_angellwings_


	10. Her Secret Wish

**East High Drama Club**

by angellwings

_

* * *

_

Chapter Nine: Her Secret Wish

* * *

Martha watched Kelsi as she urgently left the banquet room, and then turned her eyes back to Ryan. Some how he managed to look confused and determined all at once. Martha elbowed Jason.

"What just happened?" she asked him.

He sighed, "Eye contact."

"Ah, got it," Martha said with a nod as if that made everything perfectly clear. "I'm gonna go talk to him. Cheer him up a bit."

Jason chuckled, "Of course you are, and I suppose you're not going over there to get the dirt directly from him so that you and the girls can discuss it later, right?"

Martha laughed nervously as she stood and left the table, "Of course not."

Martha sat down in the seat Kelsi had just vacated, "How you doing, New York?"

"Could be better, Los Angeles," He said with a half smile.

She nodded, "So have a bit of eye contact, did you?"

"Yep, and I think it was a little too much for her. Who knew eye contact could be so complicated?"

"Oh, please, eye contact is very important. A lot of chemistry can be exchanged that way. You know the first time I ever thought of Jason as more than a friend was caused by eye contact?"

"I don't doubt it, that's how Kelsi and I started too," he grinned.

"Let me guess, it was during that first summer we were all here?" Martha asked knowingly.

He nodded, "We were working on the plan to get Gabriella and Troy back together, and it was pretty much just us in the rehearsal room."

"Mine and Jason's moment was during first semester of senior year," Martha said with a smile as she glanced back at her husband. "I volunteered for prom committee and he volunteered right after me. I looked back to give him a questioning glance and ended up catching his gaze. Took everything I had to look away."

"I've got to get Kelsi back, Mar," Ryan said with gentle determination as he stared at his plate on the table.

Martha beamed, "Oh thank goodness you realized that on your own! I was afraid I was going to have to manipulate you…or her either one."

"Gee, thanks for your concern, Martha," Ryan laughed.

"So, what are you gonna do?"

He sighed, "I don't know yet."

"Ryan, I think you're already well on your way to getting her back."

"What do you mean?"

"Kelsi's not going to be able to take much more friendship," Martha grinned. "She's well on her way to realizing she's still in love with you."

"So then what should I do?" He asked in confusion.

"Just keep doing whatever it is you've been doing," Martha smiled. "She'll do the rest."

"Are you sure about that?" He asked.

"Positive," Martha said with a nod.

* * *

Ryan stared at the house in front of him. It didn't really look like a place Kelsi would choose then again he knew she didn't choose it. Disney chose it for her. They had rented the house for her to stay in during filming. It was very plain and a little cold. There was no landscaping other than a couple of bushes on either side of the front stoop. The house itself was covered in white siding. For some reason he had always pictured Kelsi living in a brick house or an old Victorian. Something beautiful and warm. He sighed. Of course, a part of that could be that he had always pictured himself IN those kinds of houses WITH her. He sighed and knocked on the door. He heard footsteps behind and then saw a shadow pass over the peep hole.

"Ryan?" A hesitant voice asked. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk, Kels," Ryan said loudly so that she could hear him through the door.

He heard her groan, "Is this about last night?"

"What do you think?" He asked with a grin.

"Do we have to?"

He chuckled, "Kelsi, open the door."

There was a few minutes of silence before the knob turned and the door opened. She stepped to the side and motioned him in. The inside didn't look like Kelsi either. The only thing that resembled her in the house was all the picture frames with personal photos in them. He furrowed his brow as he heard a distant rapid pitter patter that came closer and closer to the foyer. Suddenly a large great dane charged him. His eyes widened and he back up against the door in shock just as Kelsi closed it.

Kelsi chuckled softly and enjoyed the sight of Ryan cornered by her massive dog before deciding to help him out.

"Down, Gershwin," Kelsi commanded. The dog gave her a disappointed glance before putting his two front legs back down on the floor. She hadn't had Gershwin's ears pinned so unlike most Great Danes his ears flopped joyfully as he backed up and circled Kelsi's feet.

Ryan cleared his throat, "So you, um, got a dog…I see."

Kelsi laughed, "Yeah sorry about, Gersh. He gets really excited when we have company."

"That is a very large dog, Kelsi," Ryan grinned as he relaxed and reached forward to pet the tan and black dog that seemed to be the size of a very small horse.

"Yes, well, I'm a tiny person so I think I need a large guard dog," She said brightly.

"Guard dog? This isn't a guard dog," Ryan chuckled as Gershwin licked his hand and attempted to jump on him again. "He's too friendly."

"Well, he's big enough that maybe just the look of him will scare people away," Kelsi smirked. "Would you like something to drink? I've got water and diet sodas."

"Water is fine, thanks," Ryan said as he followed Kelsi into the kitchen. She pulled out a glass and poured Ryan a glass of filtered water before grabbing Gershwin's massive bowl and filling it with tap water.

"So, how do you want to do this?" Kelsi asked with a sigh.

"We could just lay it out on the line. Total honesty," Ryan said as he reached for his glass of water.

Kelsi sat Gershwin's bowl down and gave Ryan a worried look, "Total honesty? Really?"

He smiled knowingly at her and shrugged, "Or we could just tell elaborate lies. Whichever you prefer."

She rolled her eyes at him playfully, "Very funny."

"I thought so," He grinned.

"I suppose we'll go with honesty," Kelsi said with a defeated sigh.

"So, what happened?"

"I just had a moment where all the reasons we broke up seemed to evaporate from my brain. I just kept remembering all the reasons we worked and seemed to forget all the reasons we didn't. It freaked me out, that's all," Kelsi explained as she studied the counter in front of her.

He nodded, "I've had a few of those. Although they didn't freak me out. They just depressed me a little."

"Really? They didn't freak you out even a little bit?"

He shrugged, "I can't say I'm surprised that there is still some chemistry between us. We didn't exactly have solid closure, Kels."

She sighed, "True."

"So, are we okay?" Ryan asked hopefully.

She smiled and nodded, "Yeah, we're good."

"Great, well, I've got to go. Martha wanted me to meet her for some reason or another," Ryan chuckled. "I'll talk to you later, Kelsi."

She nodded and walked him to the door, "See you on Monday. For filming! Finally!"

"Six more weeks and then all that will be left is post production," Ryan grinned as they reached the door.

"Luckily I have very little to do with post. That's all Jason's job. I just have to attend screenings with Mike every now and then," Kelsi smiled.

"Are you going to be staying out here or what?"

"I'll be going back to my apartment in Los Angeles," Kelsi answered as Ryan opened the door. "What about yourself?"

"Back to New York for me," he said with a soft smile. "I've already had a few offers for some new shows."

"Mike told me not to schedule anything. He's hoping Disney will want to do an EHDC 3," Kelsi chuckled.

"Good luck with that," Ryan smiled as he stepped out onto the stoop. "See you on Monday, Kelsi."

"Bye, Ryan," Kelsi said softly as she watched him walk away. She suddenly felt like time was moving way too fast. She wanted the next six weeks to slow down. She shut the door and turned to face her lovable clumsy dog. "What do you think, Gersh? You like him?"

Gershwin barked once loudly and waved his tail wildly.

Kelsi laughed, "Good to know."

* * *

"Hey!" Martha asked eagerly. "How did it go?"

Ryan quirked an eyebrow at the table. He had been expecting Martha but he hadn't been expecting the added bonus of Taylor and Gabriella. He also noticed a lap top sitting in the middle of the table. All three girls were sitting at one end of the table facing the lap top.

"Wait! Ryan is there? Where?" A voice said from the lap top. Ryan chuckled.

"Shar?"

Martha turned the lap top to face him and he saw Sharpay's face on the webcam.

"Ryan! How'd your conversation with Kelsi go?"

"Some one told you about that, huh?" Ryan asked as he tossed Martha a pointed glare.

"Oh, yeah, Martha told all of us," Taylor smirked.

"Mar!" Ryan said with a shake of his head.

"What? You knew it was gonna happen. Don't pretend like you didn't," Martha said with a shrug.

"C'mon, Ryan, it's us. You HAD to know we'd all talk about it," Gabriella laughed.

He shrugged, "You're right, of course."

"Hello? You still haven't answered my question, brother dear!" Sharpay exclaimed.

He gave his sister an amused look, "It went fine. It was a little awkward but we got through it. Did you guys know she has a great dane? He's HUGE."

Martha smiled, "I helped her name him. He was such an adorable puppy. He tripped over himself ALL the time."

"Yeah, yeah. Kelsi's a tiny person with a very large dog. Adorable," Sharpay said hurriedly. "Can we get down to business?"

"Business? What business?" Ryan asked in confusion.

"Kelsi's birthday," Taylor smiled. "It's the weekend before filming ends and we're thinking we should throw her a party."

"Like a surprise party?" Ryan asked.

"Yes, like a huge FABULOUS surprise party," Sharpay said happily.

"Mr. and Mrs. Evans already have the where covered," Martha said.

"What about the who?" Gabriella asked.

"Well, all of the gang, and all of the film's cast and crew, and her family of course," Taylor added. "And that should be plenty of people."

"And now for the most important part," Sharpay said reverently. "The theme."

Ryan grinned, "That's easy."

"Oh yeah? What's your brilliant idea?" Sharpay asked sarcastically.

"Fred and Ginger," He stated with a proud smirk. Martha and Sharpay gasped simultaneously.

"THAT is perfect!" Martha exclaimed.

"Wow, okay, Ry, I have to hand it to you that idea is pretty brilliant actually," Sharpay said with wide eager eyes.

"Fred and Ginger?" Taylor asked cluelessly.

"Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. They're a really famous dance team that was in a series of films back in the thirties. All the best composer wrote songs for their movies. We'll have to have a marathon for research," Gabriella explained in excitement.

"Okay, so we have our theme," Martha said. "So now what about our present?"

"Well, I think it should go with the theme," Taylor said as she wrote down on the details that they had nailed down.

Ryan grinned and looked at Sharpay, "Hey, Shar, you know that white dress Ginger Rogers where's during 'Can't Take That Away From Me' in 'Barkleys of Broadway'?"

"Yes, it's gorgeous. What about it?"

"It's Kelsi's favorite Ginger Rogers dress," He told her pointedly.

"Ryan, once again you are brilliant," Sharpay squealed. "I know some one who could make one exactly like it for a very decent price."

"Make one like what?" Gabriella asked.

Martha smiled, "Ryan is suggesting that we give Kelsi a dress like one in one of the Fred and Ginger movies."

"Not just any dress. This dress is the most beautiful dress she ever danced in. At least it is in my opinion," Sharpay said with a smile. "I'll get a price from Libby and let you guys know if we can swing it."

"Sounds good. We've got a few weeks before we have to have everything nailed down so we have time," Taylor said as she scribbled down another note.

"What about you, Tay? How's the wedding planning coming?" Martha asked.

She sighed, "Chad is being no help, of course, and my mother keeps asking me to order greenery to decorate the church with. I mean I realize greenery may have been very popular when she got married but I personally think it looks tacky. She's not listening to me though. All the plans are pretty much done I'm just working on the tiny details like decorations for the reception and rehearsal dinner and WHERE to have the dancing. We've rented out Old Millstone Creek for the reception and it's looking like the dancing will have to be outside. So cross your fingers that it doesn't rain. But other than that it's going pretty well. Oh and your bridesmaid's dresses are in at Dawn's so you guys need to go have them measure you while you're here. We probably need to call Kelsi and do that today."

"Well, then I'll leave you girls to it," Ryan said as he stood up.

"Oh you have things you probably need to do today too, Ryan," Taylor said sternly.

He scrunched up his nose, "Like what?"

"Chad is supposed to get the groomsmen together to go be measured for the tuxes. That includes you."

"Today? I haven't heard from Chad in a week," Ryan told her.

"Really?" Taylor asked with a blank expression. "I swear, he's just TRYING to drive me crazy. Excuse me."

"Ooo, Chad's in trouble!" Sharpay said with a wicked grin as Taylor walked a few feet away from the table and pulled out her cell phone.

"What are you doing about your dress, Shar?" Gabriella asked.

"Dawn's is sending it to my apartment and then I'm having my friend, Libby, alter it for me," Sharpay said.

"So the weekend before filming ends we've got Kelsi's birthday and then the NEXT weekend we've got Chad and Taylor's wedding?" Ryan asked. "Wow, that's gonna be crazy."

"Tell me about it. Jason's supposed to start working on post production the morning after the wedding," Martha sighed before her eyes widened and she groaned. "You know what I just realized?"

"What?" Gabriella asked.

"I'm gonna be six months pregnant by the time Taylor's wedding rolls around," Martha said miserably. "I'm gonna look like a blimp."

Ryan rolled his eyes, "Mar."

"What? I am! Oh gosh, can I opt out of the bridal party photos?"

"Martha, you'll be fine," Gabriella said with a smile.

"And how can I get my dress altered? My measurements are gonna be different by the wedding anyway!" Martha cried as her eyes began to water. She wiped her face in frustration, "Damn hormones."

"Martha Cross, calm down," Sharpay said sternly. "You're pregnant and you're beautiful. And anyone who says otherwise will have to deal with me. Which, believe me, they won't want to do."

"Besides when that little one is older you can tell them they were in a wedding before they were even born. Which is pretty cool if I do say so myself," Ryan chuckled.

Taylor rejoined the group with her phone in had. She spotted Martha's watery eyes and looked around at everyone else, "What did I miss?"

"Martha's hormones made her freak about being a pregnant brides maid," Sharpay said plainly as Gabriella slipped an arm around Martha shoulders and squeezed them.

"Martha, you'll be beautiful. Don't even worry about it," Taylor smiled supportively. She turned to Ryan, "You are going to meet the boys at the tux place in an hour."

"Okay, sounds good," Ryan said with a nod. "And with that I'm gonna go. I need to run a few errands before then."

The girls said bye as Ryan stood up from table. Sharpay spoke up from the lap top.

"Ryan!"

He turned and glanced at the screen, "Yes, Shar?"

"If I get down there in five weeks and you and Kelsi haven't made any progress then I'm gonna have to take things into my own hands," She threatened sweetly. "Got it?"

His eyes widened and he nodded, "Got it."

"Okay then, tootles!"

Ryan shook his head and waved before he walked away. His sister was insane.


	11. Both of Us

**East High Drama Club**

By angellwings

_

* * *

_

Chapter Ten: Both of Us

* * *

Sharpay and Martha had been surreptitiously planning Kelsi's birthday party for the last few weeks. They had called Ryan for advice on several occasions. The good thing about being friends with a bunch of entertainers was that they all had the ability to make sure surprises stayed secretive. Today was the first day of filming, and Ryan and Kelsi were both going to be on set for the filming of the first musical number, "Work This Out."

"Work This Out" was going to be filmed in the tiny kitchen of Lava Springs, and it was going to be really crowded. Ryan was already going to have to talk to Jason about the blocking. He'd choreographed it for a much larger space. When he came across Kelsi on set she was in a very good mood. He grinned and approached her.

"You look happy," Ryan told her.

"My parents are coming to visit this week and they're not leaving until after my birthday next weekend. They called this morning to tell me," She said brightly. "They called your parents first, by the way."

Ryan chuckled, "Of course they did. Let me guess, we're all having dinner tonight?"

Kelsi laughed, "Yep."

"It's wonderful that my parents felt the need to inform me of this before they arranged it," Ryan grinned.

"Isn't it?" Kelsi asked sarcastically.

Their conversation was halted as Jason called for silence on the set and began filming the first take of the day. After that they were only able to exchange brief comments on the kids' performances in between takes. Even so Ryan had to say he enjoyed it. It was like they were back in high school again, but he didn't want things to be like they were when they were in high school. He wanted things to be back to what they were when they were in college. Being Kelsi's friend was fine, but what he really wanted was to be much more than that.

The end of the workday came and his parents and Kelsi's parents came to fetch them both for dinner in the Lava Springs dining room.

"I thought the dining room was closed because of filming?" Ryan asked.

"We own this place. I think it's okay if we use our own kitchen and dining room for one night," Mr. Evans said with a smirk. "Besides we've hired a very special chef for the evening."

Kelsi arched an eyebrow at Ryan's parents, "Who?"

"You'll just have to wait and see," Derby teased.

"Well, then let's go eat," Kelsi's dad piped up. "I'm starved."

* * *

They arrived in the dining room and Derby led the group to the Evans's usual table. As they sat down Vance left and headed toward the kitchen.

"So, Anne, Gabriel, how have you been? It's been ages since we talked," Derby said brightly as she addressed the Nielsons.

"We've been well," Anne responded. "Pretty busy at the university. They had us both teaching an extra class last semester."

Gabriel chuckled, "That's only because we're so good at it, dear."

"That's right," Kelsi agreed. "I don't think U of A has two better professors than my parents."

"Look, honey, she complimented us and hasn't asked for any favors. Our little girl is growing up," Gabriel joked as he nudged Kelsi's shoulder.

Vance rejoined the table, "The Chef is making a special dish for all of us tonight. The waitress should be out with the meal shortly."

"No, appetizers or a salad?" Ryan asked. His parents usually ordered one or the other before their main entrée.

"Believe me, I don't think we'll need one with this main dish," Vance smirked. "The waitress should be out with it shortly."

"What dish is it?" Kelsi asked curiously.

"Boeuf bourguignon," A familiar voice announced behind them as he and a blonde assistant wheeled out a cart or full plates.

"It sounds fancy, but basically it's beef stew made with red wine," The blonde said with a huff. "The French language is misleading. Everything sounds more lavish in French."

Ryan and Kelsi immediately stood and rushed the pair.

"Zeke! Sharpay!" Kelsi exclaimed as she hugged Zeke first and then Sharpay.

Ryan hugged them both and then asked, "What are you two doing here?"

"We're using our vacation time to see how movies are made," Zeke grinned.

"Not to mention somebody had to come down here to make sure Kelsi took time off to celebrate her birthday," Sharpay said with a pointed look at the shorter girl.

Kelsi laughed, "Okay, I get it. I need to take some time off."

Ryan gave her a flat look, "But you're not going to, are you?"

"Not until after post production," Kelsi told him.

Sharpay shook her head, "After all these years of knowing me you STILL haven't learned how to have fun? That's a shame."

Zeke began to set the full bowls down on the table and motioned for Sharpay, Ryan, and Kelsi to sit. Once the food was set out Zeke sat down across from Sharpay and beside Ryan.

* * *

"_Hey," Josie said with a weak smile as Matt entered the rehearsal studio._

"_Hey," He said as he mirrored her expression. "Any news from the Isabella front?"_

_Josie sighed, "Laura told her about Tyler's Sharpay out burst."_

"_And?" Matt asked expectantly. _

"_She's on board with the plan!" Josie said excitedly. "Now we just have to figure out how to get this past Stella." _

_Matt sat down on the piano bench beside of Josie, "You just worry about writing an amazing song. I'll work on distracting Stella."_

"_I've actually already started a song," Josie said excitedly as she looked down at the keys and placed her hands on top of them. She looked up and caught Matt's gaze. He smiled softly at her and they both blushed bright crimson before looking away. Josie cleared her throat, "Would you like to hear it?"_

_He nodded, "Definitely."_

"Cut!"

"Print! Great job, kids!" Jason called from behind the camera. "Set up for the rehearsal scene!"

Alicia and Connor walked off set and waved to Ryan and Kelsi as they passed them. Ryan and Kelsi smiled in return and avoided eachother's gaze awkwardly. Kelsi now thought that scene between Josie and Matt probably could have been left out. It wasn't essential to the overall plot and was based on a very personal cherished memory. It was too late now though. It had already been filmed. It was up to Jason and the editor as to whether or not it made it into the actual film.

Ryan, for his part, was reminded of his conversation with Martha from the dinner party. It was strange to watch the scene from the outside. It was a little different than he remembered but still basically the same. It had taken him entirely too long in high school to make a move, and then after college he'd somehow managed to let Kelsi lose faith in their relationship. It had been stupid, and if hadn't known it before he definitely knew it now.

Kelsi cleared her throat, "Well, um, I have a lunch with Martha planned so I'm gonna go. I guess I'll see you after lunch for the 'Fabulous' shoot?"

"Oh, yeah, definitely. I'll be there," He said with a nod and smile.

"Great, um, see you then," She said awkwardly as she walked off the set. She headed toward the craft services tent to meet Martha. Martha waved as Kelsi entered the tent, and Kelsi joined her at the table she reserved, "Well, I just escaped an awkward moment."

"With Ryan?" Martha asked knowingly.

"Yes," Kelsi sighed. "Alicia and Connor just finished filming The Scene."

"THE scene? Yours and Ryan's scene?" Martha asked.

"Yes, THAT scene. It was awkward," Kelsi told her. "What's for lunch?"

"Chicken salad sandwiches and potato chips. Sound good?" Martha asked.

"I guess," Kelsi smirked. "So, what are we doing this weekend?"

Martha's brow furrowed, "Do we have something to do?"

"Um, well, I thought we might go out somewhere maybe go out to eat or something tomorrow night," Kelsi suggested.

"Oh, well I guess we can. Jason and I might go and see a movie but we can meet you for dinner after if you want?" Martha asked.

"Right, um, sure," Kelsi said in a disappointed tone. "That sounds…perfect."

"Is something wrong?" Martha asked worriedly.

"No, no, it's fine. A birthday dinner sounds great," Kelsi said with a sigh.

"Oh my gosh, It's your birthday!" Martha exclaimed. "I can't believe I forgot tomorrow was your birthday! Wow, Kel, I'm so sorry."

Kelsi smiled at her, "It's okay, don't worry about it."

"Oh my gosh," Martha said. "I have to get you a gift! What do you want for your birthday?"

Kelsi chuckled, "I'm good Martha. I don't need a gift. It's okay."

"No, you have to get a gift on your birthday! That's the rule!" Martha teased.

"Do we have to have rules on my birthday?" Kelsi smiled.

Martha sighed, "Do you really not want any presents?"

"No, Mar, I'm good. I'm pretty satisfied with what I've got," Kelsi told her.


	12. Things Change, Part 1

**A/N:** Sorry this took so long, guys! If there's anyone out there still reading this here's the first part of Kelsi's surprise party! I hope you guys enjoy it!

**East High Drama Club**

By angellwings

_

* * *

_

_Chapter Eleven: Things Change_

* * *

Kelsi sighed as she waited for Martha and Jason to call her. They were supposed to call her and tell her where to meet them for dinner. She flicked her phone and watched it spin around and around on her coffee table. This was turning out to be a very unexciting birthday. Everyone but Martha and Jason seemed to forget or just not have the time to acknowledge it. Not even Ryan or the Kids. Today was the day they filmed "I Don't Dance". It was the largest number in the film and involved almost everyone. So set today had been very hectic, and Kelsi understood how her birthday could get lost in all of that.

Understanding it didn't mean she had to like it.

There was a knock at her door and she quickly stood to answer it. She looked through the peep hole in the door. Her brow furrowed when she saw Sharpay and Zeke on the other side. She opened the door and smiled.

"Hey, guys," She said curiously. "What's up?"

"Jase and Martha sent us to pick you up," Zeke told her.

"We're all meeting at a restaurant downtown," Sharpay said with a smile. "Somewhere that sounds fabulous, 'La' something."

"La Perla?" Kelsi asked as she grabbed her phone and her keys.

"Yes! La Perla," Sharpay nodded as Kelsi shut and locked her front door.

"It's good. Really expensive Italian Cuisine. You'll love it, Shar," Kelsi smirked.

"Of course she'll love it," Zeke chuckled. "It's expensive."

The three of them loaded into Zeke's rental car, and headed down the road. Kelsi was so caught up in her conversation with the two of them that she didn't notice where they were.

"Wait, this isn't downtown," Kelsi said as she narrowed her eyes. They turned down a road and Kelsi spotted the Lava Springs' gates. "What are we doing at the club?"

Sharpay smirked, "You'll see."

They got out of the car and led her into the building.

"Guys, what's going on?" Kelsi asked suspiciously.

Sharpay grabbed her hand, and led her through the main doors and down the hall. Zeke walked in front of them and opened the double doors to the ballroom. Kelsi nearly jumped a mile when a large group of people screamed "Surprise!"

"What?" Kelsi asked the group of people smiling at her.

Troy laughed and stepped out of the crowd, "Welcome to your birthday party, Kels."

"What?" Kelsi asked again as Troy wrapped her in a brotherly hug.

He pulled back and smiled at her, "Happy Birthday, Kelsi."

"Come on," Sharpay said as she pulled on Kelsi's arm. "Girls!"

Gabriella, Martha, and Taylor stepped out of the crowd and followed Kelsi and Sharpay.

"Wait, where are we going?" Kelsi asked. "The party is back that way."

"In case you didn't notice, everyone back there was in formal wear," Sharpay smirked. "You and I are not. So we need to change."

"But I don't have a dress with me," Kelsi frowned.

"Honey," Taylor said as she patted her friend's shoulder. "Do you think we'd throw a formal birthday party without making sure the birthday girl had a dress?"

"We've got one for you in the bridal room," Gabriella chuckled.

"Seriously, Kelsi," Martha grinned. "Do you even know us?"

Sharpay pushed open the door to the bridal room to reveal two garment bags hanging on hooks on the far wall. There was a pink embroidered bag that was obviously Sharpay's and a longer white garment bag.

"The white bag is yours," Sharpay told her as she grabbed the pink bag and began to unzip it.

Kelsi laughed, "I kind of figured, Shar."

"Go ahead," Gabriella said as she lightly shoved Kelsi toward the bag. "Open it."

"It's from all of us, including the guys," Taylor smiled.

"You bought me a dress?" Kelsi asked.

Sharpay scoffed, "No, sweetie, we had one made. It's custom. I would never be a part of a gift that was just merely _buying_ a dress."

Martha rolled her eyes and then turned her twinkling eyes on Kelsi, "The dress was actually Ryan's idea."

Kelsi gingerly reached forward and slowly unzipped the bag. She gasped at the site of the pearly white satin. She carefully pulled the hanger out of the bag and admired the entire dress while it hung on the wall, "That's…"

"Ginger Roger's 'Barkley's of Broadway' dress," Sharpay smiled. "Ryan remembered it was your favorite."

She reached out a hand and felt the material, "It's gorgeous."

"Are you going to stare at it all night? I believe dresses are made to wear," Gabriella smiled.

Sharpay smiled at Kelsi and sighed. She walked over, grabbed the dress, put it in Kelsi's hands, and placed both of her hands on Kelsi's shoulders. She then led the shorter girl inside of one of the dressing rooms and shut the door.

"Get dressed, Kels. You've got a party to get to," Sharpay said with a smirk before turning and mumbling to the other girls. "And a choreographer to wow."

Martha, Taylor, and Gabriella chuckled as Sharpay grabbed her own dress and headed into the other dressing room.

* * *

Taylor rushed into the ballroom and pulled Chad aside. They whispered back and forth for a while before Chad ran toward the band leader they had hired for the night and whispered back and forth with him. Finally the band leader turned around and motioned for the band to stop playing. He turned to face the party crowd.

"Ladies and gentleman, I'm proud to present Kelsi Neilson. Your birthday girl," The band leader announced as he motioned to the door to his right. Kelsi walked in with Gabriella, Martha, and Sharpay following behind her. The room applauded and Kelsi blushed. Kelsi's father stepped out of the crowd and led her toward the table where she, her parents, and the entire Evans clan (plus Zeke) would be sitting. She wasn't surprised to find herself sitting next to Ryan. She'd gotten used to people trying to throw them back together.

Ryan looked a little stunned, and Kelsi smirked as he stuttered and finally got out a greeting, "H-Hi, Kelsi. You look…gorgeous."

"Thanks," She said with a smile. "I hear this dress was your idea?"

"Everyone helped, I just suggested a style, that's all," Ryan said as he pulled out her chair for her. She sat down and then squeezed his hand as it rested on the back of her chair.

"Regardless, you did good, Ryan," Kelsi said with a bright smile. "The dress is beautiful."

He leaned toward her until his lips were practically pressed against her ear, "No, it's more like _you're_ beautiful _in_ it."

It was Kelsi's turn to be stunned. Try as she might her brain just could not process a come back. She was still focused on Ryan's breath on her neck. The goose bumps just wouldn't go away.


	13. Things Change, Part 2

**East High Drama Club**

By angellwings

* * *

_Chapter Twelve: Things Change Part 2_

* * *

Kelsi noticed that slowly but surely all of her friends were leaving the room. Where were they going? What were they up to? Suddenly the band began to play a song she knew very well, and the kids were gathered in the middle of the dance floor. She smiled warmly as they began to sing along to the song "Top Hat". It was a song from a Fred and Ginger movie, and since that was this party's theme she had a feeling the rest of the songs would be too.

Once the kids were done Zeke and Sharpay appeared and performed the song "Hard to Handle" from the movie _Roberta_, Taylor and Chad did a medley of "I Won't Dance" and "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" from _Roberta_ and _Shall__We__Dance,_Martha and Jason performed "Pick Yourself Up" form _Swing__Time_, and finally Troy and Gabriella performed "Change Partners" from _Carefree_. It was the first time since the summer after senior year that the group had performed together. It was one of the best birthday presents they could have given her.

Ryan finally stepped onstage and Kelsi found herself anxiously anticipating his song. Kelsi noticed Sharpay give the band director a thumbs up, and a song started. Kelsi gasped and after a moment she noticed Ryan giving Sharpay a confused look. He looked shocked and nervous. This wasn't the song he'd prepared. Kelsi could already feel her eyes watering. She knew this song by heart. It was her favorite. "They Can't Take That Away From Me" from _Shall__We__Dance_.

Ryan took a deep breath and started to sing. His eyes landed on Kelsi and he couldn't seem to pull them away from her.

"_Our romance won't end on a sorrowful note,  
Though by tomorrow you're gone;  
The song is ended, but as the songwriter wrote,  
The melody lingers on.  
They may take you from me, I'll miss your fond caress.  
But though they take you from me, I'll still possess._

_The way you wear your hat  
The way you sip your tea  
The memory of all that  
No, no, they can't take that away from me_

The way your smile just beams  
The way you sing off key  
The way you haunt my dreams  
No, no, they can't take that away from me

_We may never, never meet again  
On the bumpy road to love_

_Still, I'll always, always keep the memory of  
The way you hold your knife  
The way we danced till three  
The way you changed my life  
No, no, they can't take that away from me  
No, they can't take that away from me_

_We may never, never meet again  
On the bumpy road to love  
Still, I'll always, always keep the memory of_

The way you hold your knife  
The way we danced till three  
The way you changed my life  
No, no, they can't take that away from me  
No, they can't take that away  
Can't take that away  
Can't take that away from me."

Ryan finished the song very softly and Kelsi could tell his eyes were watering. So were hers. That song…that song was defined their relationship, and they both knew it. Kelsi gulped and took a deep breath before excusing herself from the table and leaving the room as all of the party guests broke out into applause for the performers. She cut through the kitchen and made her way out of the employee exit. She leaned against the side of the building and took several deep breaths to calm herself down. This was not a time to be upset. It was her birthday. She should be happy and excited and feeling very appreciative of everything she has. Instead, she was mourning a relationship she'd ended _years_ ago. Why? Why would she still be feeling this way?

The door next to her opened and she blushed and looked away as she recognized Ryan.

"Kelsi?" He asked hesitantly. "Are you okay?"

"Why did you have to perform that song, Ry?" She asked.

He sighed. "Not my idea. But believe me I'll be having a strong word with Sharpay later."

"Do you really feel that way?" Kelsi asked.

"Feel…what?" Ryan asked nervously.

"Well, like even if we never get back together you'll…still…_love_ me?" Kelsi asked as she stared down at the ground.

Ryan gulped and stepped toward her. "Kels, I _do_ still love you. I never stopped."

She looked up at him in shock. "_What_?"

"Yes, we broke up, but I never stopped loving you. I don't think I _can_ stop," Ryan admitted. He continued reluctantly. "What about…you?"

"I—I…I don't know," Kelsi lied.

"Yes, you do," Ryan argued calmly. "You know. I just need you to _say_ it."

"Ryan," Kelsi said with a sigh. "I don't think this is a good idea."

"I don't care if it's a good idea or not," He said in a frustrated voice. "I just want to know the truth. How do you feel about _us_?"

Kelsi took a deep breath. "I love you. I mean, of course I do. I always have and I think I always will."

"Then isn't that all that matters?" Ryan asked as he took a step closer to her.

"I live in LA, you live in New York. How would _this_ even work?" Kelsi asked with a furrowed brow. "It's just not a good idea, Ryan. We couldn't work it out before so what makes you think we could work it out now?"

"We're different now, Kelsi. We're older, and hopefully a bit wiser. I doubt we'll make the same mistakes," Ryan told her as he took her hand and laced his fingers through hers. "I would really like to have another chance at us, Kelsi."

Kelsi bit her bottom lip as she felt her eyes begin to water. This was too much. How was she supposed to respond to that? "I-I need some time to think about this."

Ryan squeezed her hand. "Take all the time you need, Kelsi. I'm not giving up anytime soon."

He held the door open for her and motioned inside. She gulped and nodded and headed back toward the ballroom. People were probably noticing the fact that the birthday girl was missing.

* * *

The next morning Kelsi headed to the set for the last week of filming. The following weekend was Chad and Taylor's wedding and then Kelsi was headed back home to LA. That meant that even _if_ she and Ryan got back together they'd only be in the same place for a few more days. She didn't see how that would work.

Her phone rang as she reached the location they'd be shooting in that day. She answered it quickly. "Hello?"

"Kelsi, It's Mike," He said joyfully. "Happy belated birthday, my dear."

Kelsi smiled and chuckled. "Thank you, Mike. What's up?"

"Well, I had a chat with the Disney executives today. They _love_ the daily clips Jason's been sending them. They think it's going to be a huge hit."

"That's great! I'm relieved to hear that," Kelsi told him.

"It gets better," Mike said. "They want a third movie, and they want to start development on the script and the music right away."

"_Right_ away?" Kelsi asked. "How soon is right away?"

"As soon as you can finish it, I guess," Mike said. "But first talk to the cast and see if they're even interested. Don't make a big deal about it or make it seem official at all. Disney won't make an official deal until after it airs and they get a look at the ratings."

"Will do," Kelsi said with a nod. "Maybe I'll ask them if they have ideas for the plot while I'm at it."

"Do what you think you need to do, my dear," Mike told her. "Just let me know what you decide by tomorrow."

"Not a problem," Kelsi said. "I'll talk to you later, Mike."

She hung up and sought out Jason. She told him she needed to speak privately with the principle cast before filming, and he quickly helped her gather them together. She had them all sequestered in one of the club's rehearsal rooms that had been added for Ryan and Sharpay while they were in high school.

"Alright, guys," Kelsi said with a smile as she looked around the room. "Whatever I say next is confidential and far from official. Clear?"

They nodded and voiced their consent.

"Disney is seriously thinking about a third movie. Now before I even begin to talk to them about it I need to know how all of you feel about an EHDC 3," Kelsi said curiously. "What do you think?"

Alicia raised her hand and waited for Kelsi to acknowledge her. "I'd come back, definitely. I mean it depends on the script, but if it was good I'd be more than willing."

Connor nodded in agreement. "Me too."

Isaiah nodded and added his own thoughts. "I think it needs to be our last one though. We don't want to be one of those franchises that has teenagers in high school forever."

Rain immediately agreed. "Yes, I love EHDC but I really want to move on to other projects. I would, however, be up for giving Stella a grand finale. You know? Some real closure on her high school career."

The rest of the cast made affirmative noises and nodded in agreement. Kelsi bit her bottom lip thoughtfully, and then smiled warmly. "I'm sensing a pattern. So, you're all in but only for a 'grand finale'?"

The nodded again and Kelsi thought for a minute. "What about a movie about senior year? Does that sound doable to all of you?"

She smiled brightly when they voiced her agreement. "Perfect. I can definitely work that out. Alright, you can all go. Finish getting ready for filming. I'll see you out there. Remember, this is _all_ confidential."

She watched the kids leave before she called Mike eagerly. "Hey, Mike. They're in, but only if the movie is about their senior year. Pitch the idea to the execs for me? I'll work on the treatment while you do that. Deal? Great. Call me after you meet with them."

Kelsi returned to her seat on set and immediately starting typing up a one page treatment for an East High Drama Club 3. The plot points were easy to figure out. She would simply base it on her own senior year. The championship, the show, prom, and graduation would certainly take up a good hour and a half, and she already had most of the music written. She'd have to add in a few duets here and there, but it was all basically done. This was beyond perfect.

She took her laptop to the main club office where she found Derby and Vance. She briefly wondered if Ryan had told them about what happened last night, but they didn't appear to know anything.

"Kelsi!" Derby said excitedly. "What brings you to our neck of the woods?"

"I need to borrow a printer and a fax machine," Kelsi said hopefully. "Do you mind?"

Vance stood up and motioned to his computer. "Go for it."

"Thank you!" Kelsi exclaimed as she sat down in his chair and plugged in her flash drive. She quickly printed the document and then walked over to their fax machine. She called Mike as she started the fax. "Hey, Mike. I'm faxing you the treatment. It was a lot easier to finish than I thought. Did I catch you before you talked to them? Great! Show them the treatment too. Okay. I'll talk to you later."

"So," Derby asked excitedly. "What's going on? What's with all the excitement?"

Kelsi grinned at them. "Well, between all of us, Mike says Disney wants an EHDC 3. I typed up a quick script treatment for him to show them. They want to start development as soon as EHDC 2 airs. So they need this immediately."

"Wow!" Derby said as she hugged the girl. "That is wonderful! I'm so excited for you!"

"Thanks," Kelsi said with a blush. "I don't think it's hit me yet, and it probably won't till I hear back from Mike."

Kelsi said goodbye to Derby and Vance and made her way back to the set. On her way she accidentally bumped into Ryan. He caught her and steadied her by grabbing her shoulders.

"Whoa, Kels. Where's the fire?" He asked.

"I'm just trying to get back to set before they finish filming the last segment of 'I Don't Dance'," Kelsi said as she avoided making eye contact.

"You just missed it," Ryan told her. "Jason just broke everyone for lunch. They're starting on 'Fabulous' in an hour and then calling it a day. Care to join me for lunch?"

"Ryan, about last night…"

"Yes?" He asked expectantly.

"I'm not done thinking yet. I need more time," Kelsi told him. "_Away_ from you. To think."

He nodded and smiled weakly. "So that's no to lunch then?"

"Yes," Kelsi said with a sigh. "I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize, Kelsi," Ryan said. "I told you to take all the time you needed, and I _meant_ it. I can wait. Promise."


	14. I Just Wanna Be With You

**East High Drama Club**

By angellwings

* * *

_Chapter Thirteen: I Just Wanna Be With You_

* * *

Despite Ryan's assurance that he could wait Kelsi _still_ went out of her way to avoid him all week. She just couldn't decide what to do. Her brain kept telling her it wouldn't work and that she would just end up losing Ryan _again_, but her heart told her it was meant to be and that she and Ryan would _last_ this time. She just didn't know who to listen to. They both made pretty good cases. Both sides were at a standstill. Neither appeared to be winning.

Her phone rang and Kelsi answered quickly. "Hello?"

"Hey, Kelsi. It's Mike. Just got out of my meeting with Disney," Mike said brightly.

"And?" She asked eagerly. "How'd it go? What'd they think?"

"They _love_ your treatment," Mike told her. "Like I told you earlier, they're going to wait until they get the ratings, but I have a very good feeling about this, Kelsi. I'm almost _certain_ there will be a third movie. So, don't make any plans for a while. You'll probably be writing the script after the movie airs in three months."

Kelsi finished her phone call with Mike and then glanced at her calendar. It was the last day of filming and as soon as they wrapped that day there would be a cast party. Jason said he had a surprise for everyone which they all knew would end up being the blooper reel, but for his sake they pretended they had no idea. It was going to be simple. They'd eat food, reminisce, and the production crew (herself, Ryan, Jason, and Martha) would pass out presents to both the cast and crew. The next day the set would be struck and packed up to go into one of Disney's storage warehouses, and Kelsi would ship anything she didn't need for Taylor and Chad's wedding back home to LA. She'd also have to relocate to a hotel as her lease that Disney was paying for would be up. Jason and Martha were going to house her dog, Gershwin, for her until she left for LA.

Kelsi wasn't needed on set today so she was going to stay home and get a jump on the EHDC 3 script since Mike seemed to think it was such a sure thing. The sooner she got started the better.

There was a knock on her door and Gershwin ran to answer it. Kelsi chuckled as her Great Dane eyed the door excitedly. "Chill, Gersh. I don't think it's for you."

Kelsi peeked through the peep hole and jumped away from the door. It was Ryan. What was he doing here? He said he'd give her time. She didn't have an answer for him yet! She opened the door just a crack and pushed Gershwin away with her foot. "Ryan?"

"Kelsi," Ryan said brightly. "You answered."

Kelsi bit her bottom lip. "What are you doing here?"

"You've been avoiding me," He said simply.

"I-I told you I needed time _away_," Kelsi said with a sigh. "What did you think that meant?"

"I thought we'd continue to at least be professional about this," Ryan told her. "But you're just…_no__where_ to be found. I told you I was patient, and I meant it but…I'm worried."

Kelsi sighed and opened the door wider for him. "Come on in. I can tell you're not going to leave any time soon."

Ryan stepped inside and immediately knelt down to pet Gershwin. Gershwin attempted to crawl into Ryan's lap but as he was a very large dog he only succeeded in knocking Ryan off balance. "Alright, I get it. You missed me."

Kelsi smiled warmly at Ryan as he interacted with Gershwin. She really had missed him. Ryan stood up and brushed himself off.

"Alright, I have a deal for you," He said confidently.

"A deal?" Kelsi asked skeptically.

"Be my date to Chad and Taylor's wedding," Ryan requested. "Just give me until after the reception to _convince_ you to give us a second chance. If you're not completely convinced by then then I will leave you alone, and accept the fact that you want to move on. How does that sound?"

She stared at him thoughtfully for a moment. "One date? You think you can convince me to jump back into a relationship with you in _one_ date?"

"Yes, I think I can," Ryan answered with a nod.

She took a deep breath and nodded nervously. "Then sure. You have from the beginning of the wedding to the end of the reception to convince me that we can successfully have a relationship this time around. Should we shake on it?"

Ryan smirked and winked. "I'd rather do something else honestly."

Kelsi blushed. "_Ryan_…"

He chuckled at her and stuck out his hand for her to shake. "I know, I know. Can't blame a guy for trying. A hand shake it is."

"Now," Kelsi said as she looked down at her watch. "I really need to get to work on this script, so…"

"Script?" He asked.

"I'm started the EHDC 3 script. Mike thinks a third movie is a sure thing now so I'm going to get a jump on it," Kelsi told him. "Or at least I _will_ as soon as you leave and let me get to work."

"Fine," Ryan told her. "But I'm picking you up at the hotel Saturday afternoon for the wedding."

"Why couldn't I just ride with—"

"No, it's a date. I'm picking you up," Ryan insisted. "We're going to do this right, Kels. See you at the cast party tonight."

She nodded. "Yes. See you then."

"Bye, Kelsi," Ryan said as he opened her front door and hesitantly left.

Kelsi stared at her closed door and sighed worriedly. What had she just gotten herself into?

* * *

The next day Kelsi shipped all of her stuff to her house in LA, dropped Gershwin off at Jason and Martha's, and then checked into her hotel. She spent the day working on the script until the time came to get ready for the wedding rehearsal and Chad and Taylor's rehearsal dinner. The rehearsal itself wasn't so bad. There wasn't much time to talk as they practiced the processional for the wedding, but the dinner was a different story. Ryan had made sure that she couldn't avoid them. If he wasn't talking to her or someone close to her then he at least made sure to be in her line of sight at all times.

And it appeared to be working. She was remembering how much fun she'd had with him at things like this. It had been a long time since she'd had that. Randall had been a bit of a stiff. He was always very composed at parties. He was the very definition of cool, calm, and collected. Ryan, on the other hand, was practically the life of the party. Where Kelsi tended to go inward Ryan made every effort to stand _out_.

And it reminded her of how much more fun _she_ was when he was around. He helped her relax, and she'd always loved him for that. Troy and Gabriella were staying at the same hotel as Kelsi and drove her home from the rehearsal dinner that night. The ride back to the hotel was far from silent.

"So, Playmaker," Troy said with a smirk as he watched for Kelsi's reaction in his rear view mirror. "Ryan seemed to be watching you pretty closely tonight. Any idea why?"

Kelsi sighed and nodded. "He, um, well…"

"Oh! Let me guess!" Gabriella said as Kelsi's sentence trailed off. "He wants to get back together with you. Right?"

Kelsi nodded again. "Right."

"I knew it!" Gabriella exclaimed. "I knew the two of you would get back together eventually. You just had to."

"But I don't know if that's what I _want_, Gabby," Kelsi told her with a huff. "I'm still trying to figure that out."

"What's to figure out, Kelsi?" Troy asked. "He clearly loves you, and I _know_ you love him. What more do you need?"

"I cannot date him and have it fall apart again, Troy," Kelsi said softly. "I won't survive it if it happens again."

"But you don't know that it will happen again," Troy told her. "Not everybody gets a second chance, Kels. You two deserve a second chance. _Take__it_."

"Think about it," Gabriella said as she turned to face the tiny composer. "You tried to walk away from Ryan once right? Where did that get you? Right back here. Where you started. You won't be able to move on and be truly happy until you see this thing with Ryan through. For your peace of mind, at least, you need to give it one more _real_ shot. You know you do."

"It's just something to think about, Kels," Troy told her as they finally pulled up to the hotel.

"Believe me, I've _been_ thinking about it. It's almost _all_ I think about," Kelsi mumbled as she got out of the car and headed up to her room. Tomorrow was _the_ day. The wedding that would determine the fate of her relationship with Ryan.

To say that she was terrified was truly an understatement.

* * *

The morning of the wedding Kelsi got up and got everything she needed together. She took a shower and dried her hair, and then got dressed in a button up flannel shirt (to make it easier to get changed once the hairdresser had styled her hair and to keep from getting make up on anything), and jeans. She had her garment bag with her dress in it hanging on the door and her shoes were in a duffel bag with her cosmetic bag, a shawl, her purse, and a clutch. Taylor had hired a hair stylist and a make up artist to make it easy for them to all get ready together at the church. Now she was just waiting for Ryan.

He should be picking her up any minute.

There was a knock at her door and Kelsi jumped. That had to be Ryan. She reluctantly got up and answered the door. She was greeted with a bright smile from Ryan.

"Hey, Kels. You ready?"

She nodded and grabbed her garment bag and her duffel bag. Ryan quickly took the garment bag from her and carried it carefully to his car. He hung it up in the back seat and then held the passenger side door open for Kelsi to step inside.

Kelsi smiled politely at him. "Thank you."

Once they were on the road Ryan turned to her with a pleasant smile. "So I heard EHDC 3 is all but officially on."

Kelsi nodded excitedly. "Yes, I finally have a reason to use all of our music from senior year for something professional."

Ryan's eyes widened and his smile brightened. "You're going to use the songs from our senior production?"

She nodded. "I just need to add a few more songs but that shouldn't be too difficult. It's going to be weird going through the creative phases without someone to keep me from going too far though. I tend to get caught up in the writing and forget about what can and can't be done on our budget."

Ryan chuckled. "That _does_ sound like you."

"It's going to be even worse with this one, though. It's their senior year and I kind of feel like this should be the biggest and grandest movie it can be, you know?"

Ryan nodded. "It's their grand finale. That's understandable."

"Yes, but we won't know how much Disney will be willing to spend until we see the ratings," Kelsi said with a sigh. "Which won't be for twelve more weeks."

"How long do you think it will take you to write it?" Ryan asked.

"Not very long," She told him. "I mean most of what takes me so long is already done."

"Ah, well whenever you have some time off you should come to New York," Ryan said with a small smile. "How long has it been since you saw a Broadway show anyway?"

Kelsi smiled wistfully. That used to be her and Ryan's thing. They'd go to see every new show as it opened, but since they broke up Kelsi had only seen a handful of shows. "A couple of years, I guess."

"That's a shame. You've missed some great shows," Ryan told her. "We should find a way to fix that."

Ryan pulled into the church and parked. He helped Kelsi carry her things to the room where the girls were getting ready and the left to get himself ready. The girls had their hair and makeup done, got dressed, and then reported to the sanctuary for pictures with the bride and the bridesmaids. Once they were done with that they went back to the bridal room to wait for the guests to arrive. It didn't take long and the next thing Kelsi knew the wedding was over and they were all headed over to the Lava Springs for Chad and Taylor's reception. Everything had been beautiful so far, but the reception would be where things would get tricky. At the reception Ryan would talk to her and want to dance with her and he'd work really hard at making her want _them_ back.

And she wasn't sure she was at all prepared for it.

Ryan sat down beside of her at the bridal party's table, and set a drink down in front of her.

She smiled at him. "Sangria?"

"Your favorite-or it was while we were dating," Ryan told her with a wink.

She chuckled and nodded. "It still is. Thank you."

"Don't thank me. Thank Taylor's parents. They're the ones that sprung for the open bar," Ryan said with a grin.

Ryan stared at Kelsi thoughtfully for several moments before he spoke up again.

"Kelsi, I need to ask you something, and I need you to know that I mean no offense," Ryan said hesitantly.

"Um, okay," Kelsi said with a nervous gulp.

"These EHDC movies are cute, really," He told her. "But what happened to your original dream, Kels?"

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"_Broadway_. You wanted to see your shows on The Great White Way, remember? Don't you think you should get back to that?" Ryan asked.

"Are you saying what I've accomplished so far isn't good enough?" Kelsi asked with a hostile edge to her voice.

"No!" Ryan said with a sigh. "I told you not to take offense. Everything you've done with these movies is amazing, Kelsi. I just…I remember how we were at Julliard and the dreams that we talked about. I don't want you to forget them. This whole time I've been here I've seen more of the Kelsi I knew _before_ Gabriella came around, and as much as I liked her I miss the woman she became."

Kelsi gulped and looked away from him.

"_That_ Kelsi was unstoppable," Ryan said. "And I don't want you to forget her."

"I haven't forgotten her," Kelsi said quietly.

Ryan smiled softly and nodded. "I'm happy to hear that."

"And I haven't forgotten about the things that I want, Ryan. I'll get there eventually," Kelsi told him. "I just need to finish what I started here first."

"What about what _we_ started, Kels?" He asked. "Are we ever gonna finish that?"

"Ryan…" Kelsi started. She cut herself off with a sigh.

"Dance with me," Ryan said pleadingly. He aimed a charming smile at her and Kelsi crumbled. She couldn't refuse.

"Sure," Kelsi said as she accepted the hand he held out to her. They both stood and made their way to the dance floor.

Ryan pulled her close once they reached the dance floor and smiled softly at her. "I gave up too soon, Kelsi. I just _let_ you walk away. I shouldn't have done that, and I won't make the same mistake twice. And I _won__'__t_ let you feel neglected or forgotten. I know better than that now. I see now that you're the most important thing in my life and to let you feel otherwise was my greatest mistake. I still love you, and I know you still love me. We owe it to ourselves to try again. You know we do."

She said nothing as they continued to dance and Ryan led her over to a secluded corner.

"We started something our senior yeah of high school, and we can't let it go unfinished."

"Ryan—"

He cut her off with a kiss and Kelsi made a surprised noise against his lips. She relaxed in his arms for a moment before her arms wrapped around his neck and she moved her hands up into the hair at the nape of his neck. She pulled him closer and deepened the kiss. God, she had missed kissing him. She'd forgotten how wonderful of a kisser he was.

He pulled away and smirked at her. "Sorry, what were you going to say?"

She chuckled and shook her head at him. "You're evil."

"Only on occasion," He said with a wink. "So, what do you say Kelsi? Do we finish this or what?"

"You won't forget me?" Kelsi asked hesitantly. "You promise?"

"I didn't forget you then, and there's no _way_ I could forget you now," Ryan told her.

Kelsi bit her bottom lip. What was the point of denying it like she had been? It didn't make her happy, and if she never found out how things would _really_ go with Ryan then she'd never be able to move on. He was right. She did love him, but she was living with the fear that love wasn't enough. In high school she let fear rule her world and that's exactly what she was doing now. She couldn't do that.

"Okay," Kelsi said with a smile. "We get another chance, but let's not screw it up this time, okay?"

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am," Ryan said with a bright smile and a nod.

"I'm serious, Ryan," Kelsi said. "We do this right, and we make it last."

"Won't be a problem," Ryan said as he dipped his head down toward hers. "I plan on making this last as long as I possibly can."

He lowered his mouth to hers and she smiled against his lips before kissing him. She'd put this off for far too long.


	15. Epilogue: Make Our Dreams Come True

**East High Drama Club**

By angellwings

* * *

_Epilogue: Make Our Dreams Come True_

* * *

East High Drama Club 2 broke broadcast records all over the world. It was a smash hit, and as a result Disney decided to make East High Drama Club 3 a theatrical release. Kelsi had the budget to do all the things she wanted to do. This movie could be the movie she pictured it to be in her head. Six months after East High Drama Club 2 wrapped rehearsals started in Albuquerque for East High Drama Club 3. They were currently recording the very last song for the movie.

"Just Wanna Be With You."

The song that _used_ to be Ryan and Kelsi's song. Kelsi knew Ryan had felt awkward about that song ever since he found out its connection to the start of Kelsi and _Randall__'__s_ relationship. Today would tell her if he was over that or not.

Ryan had returned to choreograph with Martha. Martha wanted to use Ryan's choreography for the numbers that they performed in high school so he'd come back to help her recreate it. The fact that he'd be working with Kelsi on a daily basis was just a bonus. In the six months between the two movies Ryan had convinced Kelsi to move back to New York, and then just recently he'd convinced her to move in _with__him_. They were well on their way to their happily ever after, and neither saw that changing anytime soon.

Ryan walked into the studio and watched as Kelsi chatted with Alicia and Connor about their verse of the song. They nodded as Kelsi talked and appeared to be listening intently. Kelsi patted Alicia's shoulder before she left the booth to sit in front of the control panel. She nodded at the kids and started the music. Ryan continue to watch as Kelsi mouthed the words and sang along quietly with a wistful smile. He smiled warmly. This song would always be theirs. He knew that now. It tugged at his heart and took him back to the moment where he finally worked up enough nerve to ask Kelsi out. It didn't feel like it had been that long ago, but he knew it had.

The finished the first take and Kelsi told them to take a five minute break. She turned and smiled brightly when she found Ryan standing behind her.

"So," She said as she stood up and approached him. "What do you think?"

"It's still perfect," Ryan said with a soft smile as he gave her a quick but gently kiss.

"Good," Kelsi said with a nod. "I'm glad you think so."

He took her hand and they both sat down in front of the control panel.

"So," Kelsi said. "I was thinking…"

"About what?" Ryan asked.

"About…my next move."

"And have you decided anything?" Ryan asked.

Kelsi grinned and nodded. "Do you think it would be possible to adapt _Twinkle__Town_ as a _real_ Broadway production?"

Ryan smiled brightly at her and nodded eagerly. "Oh yes, and I know _just_ choreographer you need."

"Oh you do?" Kelsi asked coyly. "You'd think he'd be interested in helping me produce too?"

"I think he'd do just about anything for you and your dreams, Kelsi."

Kelsi blushed and nodded. "The feelings mutual."

"I love you, Kelsi," Ryan said as he leaned down and kissed her softly.

"I love you too, Ryan."


End file.
